It All Started With A Rose
by fanf1ct1onfanat1c
Summary: (BEING REWRITTEN) (RETITLED 'A ROSE'S THORN')
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer! I do not own The Vampire Diaries in anyway; that credit goes to Julie Plec and the other writers for the show. The only thing I have claim to is Camellia (and all the characters that have to do with her) and her back story.**

"Lia, it's time for school! Get your ass up!" Caroline screams from outside my bedroom door, incessantly knocking on it. Light heartedly, I roll my eyes at her ever present need to be bossy. One of Caroline's many talents is taking charge, always wanting to be a leader.

Little did she know I was already dressed and ready. My white-blonde hair was left down, in natural waves. Shortly after waking up this morning I had thrown on long-sleeve ivory shirt that showed a little shoulder, my favorite pair of dark wash jeans, and grey booties. Perfect attire for the first day of junior year. At least in my opinion; Caroline will most likely think otherwise. She is into accessorizing, and I just throw on what ever feels most comfortable that day.

"Beat you to it this year Car. I am up and ready." I tell her, swinging the door open with a smile plastered on my face. I don't know why, but I have this feeling that this year is going to be different from the ones before.

Caroline looks me up and down, forcing a smile after she realizes I didn't wear what she had suggested I wear today. "That is the outfit you are going with? Lia, why don't you ever wear what I pick out." Her enthusiasm loses its touch as she finishes her sentence. I never wear what she chooses for me, yet every time she seems surprised.

"One day Car, maybe one day." I laugh, brushing past her and towards my bag in the hall. "Are we still grabbing our first-day-of-the-school-year coffee. I would hate to break tradition."

Every year we do the same thing before the first day of classes; we grab coffee and talk about our goals for the year. It sounds cheesy, but Liz used to take us to get hot chocolates on the first day, before we could drive. And after we could drive we kept the habit going, except hot chocolate was traded out for coffee and Car's mom trusted us to go on our own. My goals normally had something to do with school and Caroline's usually had something to do with meeting cute boys and winning cheer competitions.

Caroline watches me closely as I grab my black shoulder bag and head for the stairs. "Duh! Of course we are, but spill right now. Why are you so happy for the first day?"

We made our way down the stairs, and towards the front door. I couldn't help but ponder her question myself. Maybe I was happy to see Elena again. Elena and her little brother, Jeremy, had kind of dropped off the map after the tragic passing of their parents in late spring. Other than a couple calls and texts, I hadn't heard much from her this summer; I miss my best friend.

Or maybe it was that every first day of school is like a new beginning. Honestly, I had no idea why I was in such high hopes.

"I am just happy! C'mon Car, let's go make this the best first day ever." I smiled. Caroline returned my smile with a laugh.

"I don't know what's up with you, but I love it!"

* * *

I enter the Mystic Falls High School with my head held high. Two more years and I will graduate high school, hopefully with honors. It would be an accomplishment to be proud of. Then of course, Caroline and I would take on college. We, or more like she, had our next couple years all planned out. The plan wasn't just me and her either; Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and I all want to college together after we graduate, if that's possible.

"Okay, you go first! What is your main goal for this school year?" Caroline questions while we walk towards her locker. Caroline waves at everyone she knows, which might as well be the whole school. She is pretty popular around here; due to the fact she is involved in everything.

"I think I am going to mix it up this year. It would be nice to go on a first date." I tell her, taking a sip of my mocha coffee. Maybe this year I will finally catch the eye of Tyler Lockwood, but probably not, since him and Viki are a thing right now.

Boys haven't been a big part of my life. There were a couple of crushes here and there, but nothing serious. With only two years of high school left, I think it is a good time to change it up. What could one date gonna hurt? Maybe one kiss? Or possibly one boyfriend?

We stop at Caroline's locker and get her books for first block. "Dreaming big this year! That's adorable Lia." she giggles. Caroline must not think I am being serious, but I can't blame her. "This year I am going to make sure all our parties are wild, have the cheerleading squad in top shape, and let some lucky guy take me out."

Typical goals for Caroline, she may get older, but she never really changes. Caroline quickens her pace as we leave her locker and she catches site of Elena and Bonnie, our closet friends.

"Elena! Oh, my god. How are you?" Caroline asks, bringing Elena in for a hug.

I can't help but laugh under my breathe. Elena's brown eyes are screaming for help as Caroline practically squeezes the life out of her.

"Oh, it's so good to see you." Caroline continues. She turns to Bonnie making a serious face. "How is she? Is she good?"

"Caroline, Elena can still hear you, even if you turn towards Bonnie." I comment. Caroline has the tendency to take things a little over the top.

"It's good to see you." I give Elena a hug, and she squeezes me tightly. Elena is one of those friends that no matter how long it has been you pick up right where you left off before. It is refreshing to see her after the many months of not hearing much from her. She looks happier than the last time I saw her. Wounds like hers take a while to heal, but it's nice to see she is doing better after only a couple months.

"Really Caroline, I'm fine." Elena insists. shaking her head.

I give Bonnie a hug, as Caroline hugs Elena one more time. Bonnie and I had spent most of the summer trying to stay cool. Summer hadn't been that exciting this year. And even in summer Caroline found something to keep her constantly busy.

"Oh you poor thing." Caroline sighs, breaking apart from Elena again. She looks at all of us together, and a smile widens across her face. With a small clap, she is ready to move on and go talk to other people she hasn't seen since school ended. "Okay, see you guys later. Lia don't forget, Mystic Grill after school!"

"I won't." I wave her off, giving Elena and Bonnie a smile. Caroline can be overbearing, but you just have to love her regardless, she always means well.

"No comment." "Yeah, I am not going to say anything." Elena and Bonnie laugh as we walk towards our first class. We all have history together with Mr. Tanner who happens to be the most disliked teacher at Mystic Falls High.

We get halfway there and Bonnie throws her arm in front of us, stoping Elena and I in our tracks. "Hold up, who is this?" We turn to see a new guy standing in the office.

"All I see is back." Elena says cocking her head slightly to the side.

"Leather jacket and Ray-bans? Ten bucks he is attractive." I chime in, causing them to laugh. There hasn't been a new kid in our grade for years. A small like Mystic Falls didn't really attract new comers.

"I am sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie whispers.

"You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground huh?" Elena scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"Psychic? I mean, it makes sense, Bonnie did predict Obama." I admit. Bonnie had a knack for predicting things. It didn't happen everyday, but every once in awhile she would blurt out something. And later down the line it would happen.

"That's what I said!" Bonnie tells me with a huge grin. Elena just rolls her eyes at us.

Seconds later Elena's smile suddenly disappears as Jeremy walks in to the boys bathroom. "I will be right back." she hisses.

Oh no, that's not good. Jeremy had picked up a drug habit since his parents passing, and needless to say Elena was less than thrilled. Everyone had their own way of coping, and even though I don't believe drugs is the right way, I still pitied Jer. I really hope Elena isn't too hard on him. I think of Jeremy as a good friend, no matter how distant he has been.

"Please be hot." Bonnie chants, ignoring everyone around her; only paying attention to the mystery guy. She barely realizes Elena walked away from us.

The mysterious guy turns around and my jaw drops at how attractive he is. Bonnie is also speechless. Neither of us move as he passes by us; our eyes follow the boy until his out of sight. There was something undeniably alluring about him.

"Well, now that both of us look like staring fools, should we go to class?" I inquire, closing my mouth quickly. Never had I gawped at a man like that before.

"Yeah, yeah we should probably do that." Bonnie says, almost like she's in a trance. I loop her arm around mine, pulling her towards first block.

Let the school year begin.

* * *

"So Lia, any men on your radar this year?" Tyler throws a fry at me, but misses and it lands in my drink. My first day had flown by and now I was waiting for Caroline at the Grill.

"Gross, thanks for that." I pretend to be mad, however it only lasts for a second. Tyler Lockwood has been a crush of mine forever. His dark brown eyes, black hair, and toned body is almost irresistible. Then he opens his mouth, and you realize he can be a real jerk . I still love the kid though. Him and Matt have been around since I was a little girl.

"Don't get me wrong there are attractive guys in Mystic Falls, just none that peak my interest." I lie, picking the fry out of my soda.

I can't exactly tell him I like him, because him and Vikki, Matt's older sister, have a thing going.

"Better to be alone than to be heartbroken." Matt mutters under his breathes. Matt's frown makes me sad. It's been hard on the whole friend group since him and Elena's breakup. Matt can't seem to get over it and Elena doesn't want to acknowledge it happened.

Before I can answer, Vikki brings us another round of cheese fries. Her eyes linger on Tyler as she puts them down.

"Thanks Vikki." I say, not that she notices.

"Would you like another refill?" She questions Tyler, all flirty like. I look out the window in order to hide my jealousy.

"I'd love one." Tyler responds smoothly, probably giving her a dreaming stare. Gross.

"Please tell me you're not hooking up with my sister?" Matt commands. Poor Matty, probably the only person who hasn't caught on to whatever Tyler and Vikki are.

I look back over at the boys. "I'm not hooking up with your sister." Tyler replies, trying to seem innocent. His doesn't stumble over his words, but I already know he is fibbing through his teeth.

"You are the worst liar, Ty." I roll my eyes, and he gives me a swift elbow to the stomach. There isn't enough time to block his arm and I let out a groan as his elbow collides with me.

"You're such a dick." Matt mutters, looking down at his phone.

Sitting her feel slightly awkward now, but I don't want to just leave. Where the heck is Caroline? And as if the universe heard my question Bonnie and Caroline walk through the front doors.

"I would love to stay and chat, but you know how Car can be. I got to go." I announce, jumping down from the stool I was sitting on.

"Cheer up Matty, you will find someone new." I kiss Matt on the cheek. Matt gives me a small grin, at least he tried to smile.

I give Tyler a soft punch to the shoulder. "Bye Ty!"

"Text you later Lia." Tyler shouts after me. Butterflies swarm in my stomach, but I quickly shoo them away. Tyler is with Vikki; he only sees me as a friend.

I walk up to Caroline and Bonnie in time to hear Caroline say she is having a June wedding. I slide into the chair next to hers. "Ohh who is the lucky guy? Can I be the maid of honor?"

"His name is Stefan Salvatore. Looks like I am one step closer to my goal, snagging a guy. " She asserts.

My smile falters as she says Stefan's name. Elena and him had practically fallen in love during first block, one constantly catching the other staring at them. I bite my cheek not wanting to hurt Caroline's feelings. The look Bonnie is giving me says she feels the same way.

I am sitting at the bar chatting with Lucas, a football player and a good friend. I didn't feel like playing pool with Car and Ty. Bonnie and Matty were having a heart to heart, so I decided to grab a drink.

"Little Lia, tell me how was your first day?" Lucas ponders. Lucas believes since I am a year younger than he is, and a tad shorter, it is okay to call me 'Little Lia'. I am not too fond of the nickname, but he is too sweet of a guy to correct. Lucas is your typical boy-next-door kind of guy. If only I had a crush on him instead, things would be easier.

"It was how all first days are, exciting and nerve wracking." I explain, taking a sip of the water he just gave me. My hands wrap around the cool glass.

The doors opening cause me to turn around, just in time to see Elena and Stefan walk in. Shock runs through my body. They sure got together fast.

The surprise from seeing them together feels like it's building in my body. I try to shake the feeling, but it won't go away. Suddenly the glass in my hand shatters, cutting my palms.

"Oh ow!" I scream, slightly freaking out. How did that just happen? I wasn't even squeezing the glass. Blood starts to trickle to my fingertips, and I close my hands, not wanting anyone to realize I had cut myself.

"What just happened?" Lucas looks at me with wide eyes. I look up to see him eyeing the broken class. One piece in particular that is blood stained.

"I don't know I-"

"Whoa Lia, you okay? What happened?" A voice behind me asks. Without looking I know the voice is Matt. I start to panic not knowing how to reply. I have no idea what just happened. I grab a couple napkins off the bar and get up.

"Matt...or Lucas...could uh one of you tell Car I left? I am really tired." I lie. There was no reason to wait on a response, things were weird enough.

I wish I could say that was the first time something unexplainable had happened to me, but that was just one of the many. And all of it is starting to make me feel insane.


	2. Chapter 2

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war, right in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" Coach Tanner questions. His voice is similar to the one of Charlie Browns teacher, at least in my mind.

Unlike most high school coaches who are also teachers, he takes the subject he teaches very seriously. Most days I resent sitting in class. He seems to get pleasure out of knowing how much smarter he is than his students, and that really irks me.

"Ms. Bennett?" He surprises Bonnie, who has been doodling in her notebook. Whatever she was drawing had her deep in thought.

"Um...a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot." I let out a small giggle at her response, trying not be too loud; wouldn't want Tanner to hear me.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant Ms. Bennett." he tells her, searching the room for his next victim.

"What about you Camellia Erela? You seem to think this class is fun and games. Do you have an answer?"

I let out a sigh; obviously he heard me laugh at Bonnie's answer. "I prefer to go by Lia, sir." I respond, faking the best smile I can muster up. No matter how many times I tell him that he never listens.

"Well we don't get what we want, do we? I wanted an answer from you and you-"

"There were 346 casualties, unless you are counting the local civilians." Stefan interrupts Tanner, in a calm manner.

I look over at the boy sitting next to me, giving him a thankful grin. He nods his head to me as a way of saying you're welcome. Looks like Elena has caught a man who is both attractive and smart.

"That's correct mister...?"

"Salvatore, Stefan Salvatore."

"Salvatore? Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

"Distant..."

"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner says, with a smug grin. There he goes again taking pride in being more intellectual than the rest of us.

"Actually there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on a church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong." I look over at Stefan in utter shock. No one ever stands up to Tanner. "It was a night of great loss. The founders archives are, uh, stored in city hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts."

My mouth parts into an 'o' as he finishes his statement. The rest of the class chuckles around me. I run my hands through my white-blonde hair in disbelief. Stefan has just one upped Tanner.

* * *

I tug at the bottom of my ivory v-neck. What was I thinking when I didn't grab a jacket? My mind had been so scatterbrained when Caroline busted in my room telling me I was going to cause us to be late to the party, that I had just walked of the house without thinking.

With a drink in my hand, I start walking to the falls. For some reason I felt like I needed some air away from the bonfire I had been standing next to a couple second ago. I couldn't find any of my friends since Caroline had left me to mingle with anyone and everyone. She is way more sociable than I am.

Clumsy me isn't paying too great of attention and as I round a tall bush I collide into someone's hard chest, spilling my drink all over the front of myself. The liquid seeps through my shirt, and I blush deeper as it does.

"Oh no, I am beyond sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I apologize, looking up to see Stefan.

He lets out a low laugh, and I realize none of the drink had spilled on him. Of course this would happen to me. "It looks like you just spilled on yourself. Do you want to borrow my jacket to cover it up, Lia...?"

I hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to Stefan. We have class together and all, but we haven't spoken. To say we are acquaintances might even be a little bit of a stretch. However, Stefan is looking at me as if I am all too familiar; which is odd.

"Lia, there you are! Don't tell me you were thinking about sneaking off...oh hey Stefan." Caroline comes walking up to us, a bright smile on her face. I am sure she saw Stefan talking to me and thought this was her perfect chance to make a move. Not that Caroline would ever admit to that.

I look around, not wanting to be around if Caroline was going to start flirting with him. Third wheeling is not my thing. Out of the corner of my eye I see Elena and Bonnie back at the bonfire. Perfect timing.

"It was nice finally getting to meet you." I tell him, giving them a small wave. Stefan watches me as I go, and the feeling of his stare is unnerving.

"Just admit it Elena!" Bonnie insists, as I walk up.

"Oh, ok, so he's a little pretty." Elena admits with a laugh. Her smile is contagious, making me smile too.

"Are we talking about Stefan? Because if we are, don't forget to add in his romance novel stare." I chime in.

"Lia! Girl, what happened?" Bonnie questions, looking at the huge, wet stain on my shirt and pants.

"I knocked into the brooding hottie himself a couple seconds ago." I turn to point him out, but he isn't there anymore. Hmm, wonder where he went.

"Well? Where is he?" Bonnie looks to where I am point and I just shrug, at a loss for words.

"Bonnie, shouldn't you be telling us. You are the psychic one!" Elena scoffs.

"Right, I forgot. Ok, so give me a sec. Gram says I have to concentrate." Bonnie begins to close her eyes, but Elena stops her.

"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Elena turns around and grabs two beers out of a cooler behind her. She hands one to me and one to Bonnie. "Ta da."

I take the beer with a smile, twisting it open. When Bonnie tries to take the beer from Elena her eyes go wide, her once happy face turns into one of horror.

"Are you okay?" I grasp Bonnie's hand and she gives out a small yelp. She drops the beer, the glass shatters against the ground. The cold liquid sprays my legs, but I don't flinch. Something isn't right with Bonnie, and it's making me nervous. Bonnie shakes her head, looking at us both strangely.

"What?" Elena presses.

"That was weird. When I touched you, Elena, I saw a crow." She begins, her eyes racing bak and forth. They look like they are searching for a meaning to what she just saw.

"What?" Elena says again sounding shocked.

"But when you touched me, Lia, I saw a white light emitting from someone...but I don't know who they were. Their face was blurred." Bonnie continues.

A white light coming from someone? My face scrunches in confusion. What could that possibly mean?

"Listen guys, I am drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it." Neither of us say anything to Bonnie to reassure her. Right now words have escaped me. I glance over at Elena and she too is having a hard time coming up with something to say. Elena and I both seem caught up in what Bonnie told us. "Yeah? Ok, I am gonna get a refill." Bonnie says, quickly walking away.

Returning to reality, I scurry after her. "I am going to make sure she's okay." I say, leaving Elena behind.

"Ok?...Wait, Bonnie! Lia!" Elena call after us. I ignore her, still trying to catch up with Bonnie. Until a voice catches my attention.

"You look like you are on a mission." Someone chuckles beside me. I glance over to see Matt, sitting on top of a park table. His normal bright blue eyes are glazed over.

"Matty, what are you doing sitting here alone?" I walk over to him, hopping onto the table to sit next to him. Bonnie should be right back once she got a refill; I will catch up with her when she does.

"You know Lia, everything was different last school year. I was just thinking how it's funny how things change." Matt looks over at me, his blue eyes glossed over with sadness. He didn't have to say it, but I knew he was talking about Elena breaking up with him. Matt truly loved that girl with all his heart. I take a couple gulps of my beer.

"What does that country song say? The first cut is the deepest?" I give Matt a goofy smile. The booze starting to get to me. "Sorry, I know I must suck with this kind of advice, since I have never been in love. I do know that you are amazing and any girl would be lucky to have you."

Matt laughs at me, putting his arm around my shoulder. He brings me in for a side hug right as Tyler walks up to us looking agitated about something, but when is he not mad for one reason or another?

The wind kicks up, causing me to shiver slightly. I can only tolerate the cold when I am wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket. Tyler slips out his jacket as he sit next to us.

"You look freezing! Put this on." Tyler commands, holding his jacket out towards me. It isn't a fuzzy blanket, but it will do.

"How is it you make a nice gesture sound like harsh demand." Matt asks with a silly smirk on his face. Tyler just rolls his eyes at Matt, while I slip his jacket on. Matt has a point, even with the best intentions Tyler has a way of coming off as a jerk. After being friends with him as long as Matt and I, you come to know he does it unintentionally.

"Thanks Ty." I inhale the musky/wood scent that is Tyler Lockwood. I hug myself, moving my hands up and down my arms to stay warm. He may never get this jacket back.

"You know I am really sick of Jeremy Gilbert getting in the way of me being with Vikki." Tyler blurts out, earning a groan from Matt and I.

Any trace of a smile I had is gone. A pang of hurt goes through my chest. Why did I have to like him? Matt shakes his head, standing up. "I am not talking about my sister with you."

"I think I am going to head out. Being drunk really tires me out." Half of that is true, but I also don't want to stick around and hear Tyler talk about Vikki.

"Really guys?" Tyler asks angrily.

Hey, I am not going to stick around to listen to the guy I like talk about another girl. I mumble an "I'm sorry" and head towards the woods.

I couldn't have walked far when I hear a faint gasp, causing me to jump in surprise. The darkness of the night is making it hard to see, even when I narrow my eyes. As I walk closer to the supposed noise I see a dark figure, it seems to be hovering over a person's body. A chill runs through my body. Inching closer, I try to be quiet.

 **Snap**. I step on a branch, causing the dark silhouette to look towards me. Frightened, I try to turn around. My ankle catches on something, and as I fall forward the dark figure lurches towards me. A scream escapes my lungs, piercing the air. There isn't time to catch myself, and the side of my head hits a rock. I whimper in pain. A hot liquid starts streaming down my face.

Everything becomes blurry. I try to get up, but I can't. With all my strength I roll onto my back to see what looks like a man looking down at me. I squint my eyes to get a better look. His mouth is covered in blood. When the apparent man starts bending down I can see there are purple veins coming down from his eyes, and white fangs protruding from his mouth. Is this real? I have to be hallucinating.

My eyes are heavy and the world around me is growing dark, but I in that moment I summon all the strength I can. "Get away from me!" I yell, my hand rising up emitting a white light, and throwing the man backwards.

 _"But when you touched me, Lia, I saw a white light emitting from someone."_

Everything around me goes black. For a couple moments I come in and out of consciousness. Two arms pick me up off the ground; my body limp in their hands.  
"She's bleeding pretty bad from the gash on her head."  
"SOMEONE CALL 911!"  
"Lia, can you hear me? Try to stay awake."  
The voices are distorted and I can't make out who is talking.  
All my strength is depleting, I feel myself falling into the darkness.

But the last voice sounds crystal clear.  
"Let go Camellia, I promise everything is going to be okay." And that's exactly what I do, I let go.

* * *

I wake up in to the sound of birds chirping, and the smell of fresh air. I sit up and see a girl sitting next me. She is wearing a long white gown, her hair in a long fishtail braid. We are sitting on a dirt road, surrounded by tall green grass.

"Where am I?" I say in a scratchy whisper.

Slowly the girl looks over at me, and I jerk backwards at the sight of her. She looks just like me. "Camellia, it is great to see you." her voice is soft and sweet.

I blink a couple times, trying to convince myself this is just a dream. "Do not be afraid dear girl. I am just here to warn you of something." She doesn't move, knees stay pulled up to her chest with her arms around them.

"Warn me about what?"

When I ask this she looks towards the horizon. Her face calm. "Things are about to change, and you will need to be ready. You need to control your power Camellia. There are people who will become prevalent in you life; do not let them hurt you or the people you love."

"Them? My power? What are you talking about?"

"It will all make sense in time dear, all in time."

* * *

I jolt forward, frantically looking around. It was just a dream, nothing real about it.

"Hey, you are okay." Strong hands grabs me, pulling me into their chest. I bury my head into their chest, clinging on to the person. A sense of security flows into my person, allowing me to breathe normally again. The person brushes the back of my head. "You are safe. Everything is okay."

My mind is a whirlwind of questions right now. I pull away to see Stefan, and I feel strange for embracing him in a hug like that, since I don't know him too well. However, his presence doesn't make me feel uncomfortable or awkward, it's almost soothing.

"Stefan...what are you doing here?" I look around my hospital room, replaying my fall over and over. Still, I have no idea who or what that guy was, the one that attacked Vikki.

"Matt and Tyler were just here. I thought I would wait with you till they got back." He explains. I nod my head at him. My head hurts really bad; I must have banged it pretty good.

I lay my head back against the pillow, closing my eyes. The pain medicine they are giving me must be making me tired. Losing the battle to my heavy eyelids, I let them close, nestling into my pillow. I wonder how long I had been out before waking up.

"Lia, do you remember what attacked you and Vikki?" Stefan's voice is barely audible as I fall back asleep.

"It looked like man, but it couldn't have been. His mouth..." I yawn, cuddling deeper in the pillow. "He he had fangs and was covered in...covered in...blood."


	3. Chapter 3

"Lia, you awake?" a mans voice asks me, while simantounsly knocking on the door. My eyes flutter open and confusion fills my mind. Where am I? As my eyes travel the room to see Jeremy sitting down in the chair next to my hospital bed, memories trickle into my thoughts.

Stefan had been here yesterday...was it yesterday? And I think I told him I was attacked by a man covered in blood. Jeez, I must have sounded crazy to him.

"Jeremy...hey." My voice is scratchy and try. Most likely due to the face I sleep with my mouth open. It's an embarrassing habit. Speaking of sleeping with my mouth open; how long had I had I been asleep? I sit up, to better situate myself, causing Jeremy to stand up and walk towards me.

"Hey, be careful! Try not to strain yourself too much. You have had a rough couple of days." He walks over to my bed, his eyes soft and caring. I hadn't seen Jeremy in awhile. He almost secluded himself after his parents died; only choosing to hangout with certain individuals. Unfortunately, I had not been one of them, but he was here now. It was nice to wake up to a familiar face and not some doctor.

I am little surprised that I feel no sort of pain, especially because of how hard I hit that rock when I fell down. Honestly, I feel great; no part of my body aches or feels sore. "Rough couple of days? What has happened since I have been in here?"

My eyes widen as I remember the other night how a beam of white light seemed to emit from my body, and sent whatever was standing over me in the air. I am still unsure of what it was, but it had attacked Vikki, and possibly tried to attack me. Everything is so confusing right now.

Jeremy put his hand on top of mine. "Lia, it's okay. Everything is okay." He pulls the chair closer to the bed, so he can talk to me while holding my hand. It was comforting. "I was heading home, not paying attention, and I tripped over your leg. You had blooding gushing from your forehead. No one knew how long you had been laying there. When I screamed for help, I looked up and saw Vikki unconscious too."

"Is she okay?" I question. Vikki and I may not be friends, but I would still hate to see one of my friend's sisters hurt. I hadn't been able to see how bad off Vikki was that night. The darkness of the night and the creepy silhouette thing had prevented that. "Did she say what attacked her?"

"Yeah, she is doing better now. She said she was attacked by a vampire." Jeremy chuckles. I bit on my lower lip as I remember looking up to see what I thought had been a human, covered in blood. I swore I saw pearly white fangs, but I believed I was hallucinating. If I had been imagining it, how did Vikki see the same thing I had? "She was half awake when she said that and on pain meds. Obviously you guys weren't attacked by vampires."

He squeezes me hand as he tells me this, and I wonder why I haven't been visited by the police yet. It probably had something to do with the fact Sheriff Forbes was basically my mother. Or maybe they had visited and I had still been out of it.

"Do you think they will let me leave today?" Jeremy frowns when I ask this question, he seems nervous to answer my question. "They are going to hold you overnight. Lia, you hit your head pretty hard, and you were unresponsive when they found you. You were in a coma for two days, and then suddenly you woke up. That new guy Stefan came to visit and while he was talking to you, you just sprang up."

A coldness tickles my skin as Jeremy explains to me that I almost died. It doesn't make sense; I feel perfectly fine right now. In a coma, and I suddenly just woke up? How is that possible? An exasperated groan leaves me lips. All of this information at once was too much; I wanted out of this place.

"Jeremy can I borrow your phone? Mine is probably dead and I want a change of clothes."

"Lia, they aren't going to let you leave. You need your rest." Jeremy insists.

"Will you please just text Caroline and ask for a change of clothes. I will take a nap just for you, if you do this for me." I bat my eyelashes at him hoping he will cave.

With a chuckle he pulls out his phone and calls Caroline.

 **Later At The Hospital**

With a yawn, I open my eyes to see someone had turned on the television in my room. Nothing exciting was on, it was one of those daytime judge shows. I look over to the chair to see Jeremy had left and had been replace by Stefan. Stefan here again? Had I really left a big enough impression on the guy for him to visit me twice in two days?

Stefan seemed to have dosed off waiting for me to wake up. His head was resting in hand, which was sitting on the arm rest of the chair. Even in his sleep he looks serious.

The bag next to the chair catches my eye; sitting next to Stefan is my weekend bag with an envelope sitting on top. Caroline had really brought me clothes. I was afraid she would be too busy, considering she is always doing something.

I quietly slip out of my bed, and grab the bag. Once I was a couple steps away from Stefan I darted into the bathroom to change out of this cloth hospital gown. The first thing I do is read the note and see it is from Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie.

Caroline is making us pass out comet flyers. Wish you could be here to share in the misery of being bossed around by her. Get better soon! - Bonnie

Jeremy said you were looking better today! Sorry we missed you earlier, you were asleep. -Elena

I can't believe you would get attacked by an animal right before the comet. Now I am short one helper. Well, we will have to make due without you. Hurry up and come back home. Miss and love you! -Caroline

I laugh at Caroline's comment on the bad timing of me being attack. Caroline truly is her own person. I slip on my favorite dark blue jeans, my favorite black hoodie, and black vans. She had chosen my best comfy clothes. I leave the hospital gown on a rack in the bathroom, and quickly comb through my unruly hair. I don't know how, but I am going to sneak out of this place.

As I open the door I almost run face first into Stefan's chest. "Oh my gosh! You woke up fast." I proclaim looking up at him. A flush of color stains my cheeks. This is the second time I have run into him.

I clutch tightly onto my weekender bag and pass by him to sit on the bed. If I tried to run while Stefan was watching he might try to stop me.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I woke up and you weren't in bed. Just wanted to make sure you were okay." His green eyes look me up and down, looking for an signs of injury. The only one is the bandage on my forehead. I didn't bother to take it off; I didn't want to see wound that will most likely leave an ugly scar.

"That's good. Do you remember what you told me the other day when I was here?" His face is strangely blank as he asks me this. Stefan comes and sits next to me on the bed. He was oddly comfortable around me, considering we hardly knew each other.

"I..uh...it had been a long night. I hit my head pretty hard, and I was drugged up when I told you. Whatever I saw was probably just a figment of my own imagination." I tell him, avoiding all eye contact.

Stefan leans closer to me, looking me directly in the eyes. "The other night you saw Vikki getting attacked by an animal. You panicked and tripped over a branch, causing yourself to hit your head on a rock. You don't remember anything else." The words are formed into a statement, not a question. Almost like he is telling me what happened. I already know what happened.

I slide back, away from him. "What are you trying to say here?"

Stefan's eye widen in shock, and he quickly stands up. His hands reach for my arms. Something wasn't right here. I try to move out of his grip on my arms, but his grip is iron tight.

"Stefan, let go of me." I insist. His hands don't move and I can tell he is thinking about what to do next. And from the look in his eyes I wasn't going to like it. Multiple emotions are boiling inside of me; anxiety, fear, and confusion. Before I can ask him to let me go again, a light bursts out of me, throwing Stefan into the wall opposite of us.

The wall makes a loud banging sound when he collides with it, and within seconds my door flies open. A doctor looks at us both, not knowing who to go to.

"I don't know what happened! He just passed out, hitting the wall as he feel." I lied.

The doctor starts walking towards Stefan. Stefan doesn't budge, just staring at me in wonderment. Why does this keep happening?

With no hesitation I sprint passed the doctor. I ignore all yells that come from nurses or other doctors. A sign tells me the stairs are around the corner, and I keep running till I am down the stairs and finally out of the hospital.

 **At The Park**

Thankfully I had a spare key to Caroline's car, so I able to ditch my bag there before walking into the park where the comet gathering was being held. My phone was completely dead, but I brought it with me for some odd reason.

My hood is over my blonde hair, and I try not to make eye contact with anyone who know Sheriff Forbes really well. Wouldn't want someone telling her that I wasn't in my hospital room. Although, I am sure the hospital might have already done that.

Tyler and Matt were sitting at a park bench not too far away. A smile lights up my face. If Matt was here than most likely that meant Vikki was out of the hospital. If she was still there he would be there right now. Matt was very protective of Vikki, because his mother was never around.

"Matt! Ty!" I exclaim as I come up behind them, putting my arms around their shoulders.

"Lia!" Matt jumps when he hears my voice. I don't get the chance to react, because Matt engulfs me in a bear hug, lifting me off my feet. "It is great seeing you. When did they discharge you?"

My feet lift off that ground as he twirls me around. "Maybe like an hour ago." I laugh.

No sooner do I pull away from Matt, and Tyler has me in his arms. He kisses my forehead, and I feel myself blush. "Good to see you too Ty."

He doesn't say anything as he pulls away. His brown eyes just look at me. It looks like Tyler and Matt had both been worried about me. Was I really that bad off? Tyler smile fades, he is looking at something behind me. When I love over my shoulder to see Stefan my body tenses. Immediately I start to think of excuses.

"I am really thirsty. I am going to walk over to the Mystic Grill." I smile and walk off with a wave. Surely Stefan didn't see me. He wasn't looking towards Tyler, Matt and me.

I head straight for the bar when I walk into the grill. Lucas is working the bar; maybe he can sneak me a shot. I could use one, that for sure.

"Little Lia! You are looking good. An animal attack can't bring you down!" he teases with a smirk.

"Lucas you really know how to make a girl feel special." He puts his elbows the counter, looking at me to make a request. "You know what would make me feel even better? A shot of vodka."

"Whoa, someone looks a little young to be drinking." The voice behind me doesn't sounds familiar and it's strange because when you live in a small town you almost know everyone.

I turn on my bar stool to see a raven-haired man, piercing blue eyes eyes, and pink lips that were turn into a smirk; similar to Lucas's but more troubling than funny.

"Do I know you?" Ocean blue eyes are hard to miss, and if I had seen him before I think I would remember, but there is something about him that makes me think I do.

The attractive and alluring man takes a seat next to me. He leans forwards, giving Lucas a look. "Change her shot of vodka to two bourbons."

Normally Lucas would make me hassle him a little more before caving, but right now he goes right to pouring two drinks.

"What if I don't like Bourbon." I pine, cocking my head at the stranger.

"Well than you aren't good company to keep." he shoots back.

My mouth opens in surprise at how forward he is being. I may not know who this guy is, but he has a fire to him: the sarcasm, walking up like he owns the bar, and ordering me a drink.

"Lia! I thought they were going to keep you over night? Did they give you anything good for the pain?" I look to my right to see Vikki coming from the office across from the bar. Vikki looked good, minus the huge bandage on her neck. Her eyes pass me and look toward the dark haired man beside me.

"Drink up blonde beauty, don't want to get caught." The man whispers to me. Still looking at Vikki, I throw back bourbon.

"This is the strongest thing I have had since I woke up in the hospital." I let out a laughing cough. My stomach lurches, and I realize drinking when I haven't eaten much was a bad idea. When was the last time I have eaten?

"Save my seat! I have to use the bathroom." When I am walking to the bathroom I feel a little dizzy. I stumble over to the sink, turning the sink on. Gathering water in my hands, I take a deep breathe before splashing on my face. The cold water feel good against my skin, but something still feels off.

Vikki walks into the bathroom, walking over to me. "Lia, you okay?" She puts her hands on my shoulders as I look up in the mirror.

"You must have really hit your head. That is a huge bandage on your forehead." We both stare at the bandage on my forehead and my mind goes back to when Jeremy said they wanted to keep me another night.

I stumble back, and she grabs onto me as I fall onto my knees. Maybe I shouldn't have left the hospital. "Something is wrong with me."

"Oh no, you will be just fine blonde beauty." Vikki in jumps in surprise at the voice by the bathroom door. Ocean-blue eyes guy?

"Uhhmmm this is the girls bathroom." Vikki's voice sounds far away. I feel myself fall into her, and then everything goes black.


	4. Chapter 4

The smell of the night air flows in my nostrils. My fingertips brush against a dirty, hard surface. Stars reign the night sky above me, and I can't remember how I got here. Disoriented, I blink a couple times, trying to clear my eyes.

"Look who decided to join the party." I sit up to see the man from the bar, with piercing blue eyes. My eyebrows furrow in disarray. Had I not just been in the bar with him? How did we end up on the roof? The bathroom, I was in the bathroom when I passed out on Vikki. Something tells me I didn't pass out from my injures.

"What's going on?" With caution, I stand up, but don't move any closer to him. Where fear should be, there is instead curiosity. What could this man possibly want from?

The smirk on his face is devious. His hands hands are tucked in the pockets of his leather jacket. I think we are on the roof of the Grill.

"Don't worry you are about to see, my blonde beauty. " Cockiness saturates his aura.

Someone groans close by. My eyes search the roof to find Vikki laying a couple feet behind me. In a blink of an eye the dark haired man is squatting beside her, pulling her off the ground.

"How...how did you do that?" Flabbergasted, all I can do is stare at the two. It's not possible that in a moment he went from being on one side of the roof to milliseconds later he being on the other.

"You mean this?" With one swift movement he is back on the other side of the roof, holding Vikki on the ledge of the roof. Vikki's scream cuts into the night.

"No! Please don't hurt her!" Pleading for Vikki's life, I run towards her and him. Nothing right now makes sense. It feels like I have slipped into a nightmare.

"Ah ah ah, one more step and she goes over." With his warning I stop in my tracks. I don't care that Vikki and I aren't the best of friends; no one deserves to die like this.

A figure appears to jump on the roof from out of thin air. I rub my eyes to make sure my mind is not playing tricks on me. Familiar green eyes look my way, making me gasp ever so slightly. The person was Stefan Salvatore. Stumbling backwards, I know I am out numbered. Vikki and I couldn't possibly escape these two.

"Not bad, brother. Have you been eating bunnies?" The man holding Vikki taunts. Vikki's sobs continue, her whole body shaking. With a clenched jaw, the gears in my head turn, trying to think of ways to get out of here unharmed.

This man is Stefan's brother? I look between the two guys in front of me; I don't see the resemblance. Damon's presence is abundant, you can't miss him. His choosing to wear all black clothes makes him seem like trouble. Then when he speaks his snarky comments enforce the idea that he is up to no good. Stefan seems reserved, but not in a quiet way. Reserved like he is hiding something within himself. His is alluring, because he is mysterious.

"Damon, let them go." Stefan's eyes never leave me as he speaks.

"Ok, I will let Vikki go." Damon's smirk grows as he proceeds to push her towards the roofs edge.

"NO!" A scream explodes out of me; with it a stream of white light burst from from my hand. The light wraps itself around Vikki like a ribbon, circling her falling body.

I look down at my now outstretched hand, wide eyed and terrified. The light brings Vikki to me, placing her gently by my feet. How am I doing this? Kneeling down, I wrap my arms around Vikki's trembling body.

"Looks like I was right; you are just like her." Damon looks pleased, but Stefan still looks mad. He rushes over towards us. "However my work isn't don't yet." Again, Damon uses his supernatural speed, appearing right beside Vikki and I. Stefan gets thrown across the roof, Damon taking his place.

"Don't touch her!" I hiss, instinctively pulling her closer. Vikki leans into my shoulder, clinging to me for life.

"Relax, I don't want her dead, though Stefan might." Damon moves Vikki's chin from my shoulder, to look him in the face. His ocean-blue eyes dilate as he talks to her.

Stefan pushed himself off the ground with a growl. The harmless boy I met at school is gone. His eyes are red, purple veins protruding from under his eyes, and white pearly fangs are now one with his teeth.

He looks just like the thing in the forest. Stefan looks like a vampire. Jeremy said Vikki claimed a vampire attacked her, but I didn't believe it at the time. I do now.

"What happened to your neck?" Damon asks Vikki, cocking his head ever so slightly.

Vikki shakes her head, searching her mind for the answer, like she isn't sure of it. "I...I don't know." Tension builds inside of her; the words didn't feel right on her tongue.

"Are you sure? Think, think really hard. What attacked you?" Damon presses, every word harsher than the one before.

Seconds later Vikki attempts to escape my arms, and back away from Damon. "A vampire!"

"Who did this to you?"

"You did!"

"Wrong! It was Stefan."

Monotone Vikki repeats every word Damon had said. And I am unsure if I am more surprised that vampires are real or that Damon just seemed to control Vikki's mind. I want to run, but I don't move. If I am getting out of here, I am taking Vikki with me.

"Don't do this.." Stefan's voice is a mixture of terror and hurt.

"What is this? Whatever it is I want no part in it. I am taking Vikki and going!" Quickly I get to my feet and reach for Vikki.

"No you don't." Damon is suddenly standing before me. Too close for comfort. "Doesn't Lia here remind you of someone Stefan?"

With a gulp, I turn to Stefan. Why do I have a bad feeling about what he is going to say? Stefan averts his eyes, guilt written all over his face.

"Why are you doing this?" Stefan looks desperate for answers, and I am too. What is Damon doing all of this for?

"To prove you are weak! You crave blood, but deny yourself a natural instinct. I know you can practically taste blood when you look at Lia. She looks just like Violet, who you practically drained of blood!"

All the coloring in my face dissipates. Killers. They were both killers. Whoever Violet is, Stefan killed her, and Damon almost murdered Vikki. The fact that Violet looks just like me gives me chills. What if I am one of their intended next victims?

"You know what, let Vikki go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you." Stefan's response pull at my heart strings. It shouldn't, but it does. How is it that I am not mortified of these two people? Why do I not feel disgust?

"Actually, I have a better idea." Damon crouches by Vikki, whispering something in her ear. "Here brother, you can have Vikki. But, I am taking Lia."

Before I can react a cloth comes over my mouth. The harder I fight the more tired I feel, until I can no longer fight at all.

* * *

When I wake up, I am hoping it's in my bed and everything that happened before had been a dream. More action had happened in the last week than in my entire life. The feeling was surreal, almost like it should be a dream instead of reality.

Damon is sitting next; we are in a bed. He drugs me, but is nice enough to lay me in a bed? In his hand is a leather bound book. Scanning the book with his blue eyes, he looks normal, almost like he didn't attempt to throw Vikki off the roof of the grill earlier. His eyes peer over at me when I sit start fidgeting.

"Oh goody, you are awake. Watching you sleep was really getting boring."

After everything that has gone on today, I wasn't afraid of Damon. There was more confusion over the situation than anything else. If he wanted me dead, I would be dead. He is a vampire with inhuman speed, extraordinary strength, and some sort of mind power. There is a reason I am alive.

I push myself into a sitting position, staring at him. "What do you want from me?"

"Who says I want anything?" My question amused him, causing him to grin.

"You drugged me twice, yet haven't hurt me. I serve enough purpose to you that you won't hurt me, because I would be less likely to help you if you did so."

"Smart girl, if you weren't human I would swear you were Violet herself, but since you are that isn't possible." Damon gets off the bed, putting the book on the night stand next to it. He walks over to a book case , looking for something.

"Who is Violet?"

"Good question, and I have an answer. However, I need your help. So here's the deal; if you help me I will answer any question you possibly have about Violet, vampires, or anything else supernatural." Finding what he was looking for, he strolls back over to the bed, where I am still sitting.

"I don't trust you."

He hands me what he found in the bookcase. It is an old time photo, older than any picture I have seen before. In the picture was a girl and in this girl's arms is a baby. "Here keep it as a sign of good faith or whatever."

I look up at him in disbelief. This photo has to be over a hundred years old. How is it she is identical to me? "Next time you need something from me, don't drug me. It isn't exactly something someone does when they want to be trusted."

I slide off the bed and walk over towards the door at the front of the room, taking the picture with me. All of this information at once was giving me a headache. A goodnights sleep was what I needed to sort everything I had learned today over.

"I take it we have a deal?"

I look over my shoulder, staring into Damon's eyes. "I have been going crazy wondering what has been going on with me lately. If getting answers to that means putting up with you, then I will do it. Just know, I meant it when I said I don't trust you. You do one thing to make me regret this decision and I am gone."

"You know, I think this is the start to a great friendship."

"Don't push it. Now, will you please show me the way out?"

Damon and I leave the room we are in, which I am assuming is his. We make our way to the front door, and I realize I have no clue where exactly I am right now. How am I supposed to get home? "Damon? I need a ride."

"I wondered when you were going to realize that." he chuckles at me under his breath and I find myself smiling whiling rolling my eyes. Keys jingle as he takes them off a peg by the door. Maybe this friendship, or whatever it is, won't turn out to be that bad. Though I don't know what he wants from me yet, and that might be a deal breaker.

As I open the door I come face to face with Stefan and Elena. Elena's mouth parts into an 'o' and Stefan looks between the two of us in utter disbelief.

"Lia! We looked for you all night. Stefan said you left the grill to go home, but we-"

Damon cuts her off. "I was supposed to take her home, but we ended up getting caught up in conversation and ended up here. If you know what I mean." A burning sensation arises in my cheeks as he implies that we hooked up. "Anyway, she just realized she left her phone in the car and she decided it was time to head home. We are going there now."

Damon's hand lands on the small of my back, as he pushes me forwards past the two. "I will text you when I get home." That is all I can manage to say as I wave goodbye to Stefan and Elena. I wanted to refute what Damon had said, but I really couldn't think of a better excuse. I can always tell her he was joking later.

"Really Damon?"

"Hey, I am guy. That was the first thing that came to mind. You can't tell me you don't wish that was the truth."

"Actually I can." I reply, sliding into the passenger seat of his beautiful blue mustang. Damon puts his hand over his heart. "Now that hurt."

I roll my eyes and hope that Liz, Caroline's mom is not at home.

* * *

When I came home Caroline yelled at me for a good twenty minutes. Apparently Caroline covered for me, telling her mom she broke me out of the hospital. Thankfully that meant I wouldn't have to lie to Liz about where I had been in the last twelve hours.

Caroline took one look at Damon when he dropped me off and insisted to know everything about him. Where did I meet him? Who was he? Were we a thing now? I just brushed all her questions off by telling her I was exhausted and would explain everything tomorrow.

Laying in bed, all I could do was stare at the picture Damon gave me of Violet. I had never seen such a close resemblance between anyone before. Every detail about her was me, there was no difference between us. I roll over, hiding the picture in my night stand by my bed. Tomorrow I was going to go back to the Salvatore boarding house. All that mattered to me now was getting answers.

* * *

"Hello Camellia." The girl I had seen in my dream the other night is standing in front of me. We are in a different place than last time. Last time we were in a field, however this time we are in a garden, beside a huge house.

The girl is sitting on a bench, her long white dress seeming to glow in the sun. She took looks just like me, but she seems older, almost wiser than I. Could she be Violet?

"Are you Violet?" I ask, walking towards her. The corners of her mouth pull into a toothless grin.

"No dear, that I am not." The girl stands, and for the first time I notice her eyes are a grayish-white. She walks forwards, arms behind her back. Grace surrounds her; she is one of those people who walk into a room and with trying have all eyes on them. Instinctively I follow after her.

"Then who are you?"

"Camellia, you must be careful of vampires. There are not the best company; with them comes a darkness, one that can not be shut out."

"A darkness?"

"Vampires are not natural, they betray natures laws. Consequences must be had when that is done, and for that reason vampires have an unquenchable thirst that makes them dangerous."

"You are talking about their need to drink blood."

"Yes, I am. "

I stop walking, wonderment sparking within me. If she is not Violet who is she? Why did she avoid my question when I asked her?

"You warned me things were about to change, and that I would need to control my powers. You said I needed to make sure 'they' didn't hurt me. What did you mean by all of that."

The white-eyes girl looks at me, lips pursed. Her beauty is striking in a way mine is not, even though we look the exact same. She carries herself differently than anyone I have even known.

"Things have already changed. Have they not?"

"I learned vampires are real. Is that who 'they' are?"

She places her hand on my cheek, admiring me. "You are a bright child. Camellia, you are unlike the ones before you. There is something about you dear; you are the one that will alter what has been done."

And with that she disappears.


	5. Chapter 5

I pull my mocha colored shirt over my head, hoping it goes well with my dark ripped jeans and and black ankle boots. Anything to distract people from see how tired I look.

When I woke from my dream, vision, or whatever you call it where I am seeing that girl that looks almost exactly like me, I could not go back to sleep. This girl wouldn't answer any of my questions. She was the most frustrating person to talk to, if she even was a real person. I am not entirely sure these things aren't reoccurring dreams, that everything is just in my head.

Standing before the full body mirror in my room I see slight dark purple looking circles under my eyes, and I let out an annoyed groan. Why did I have to be going crazy right as school started up again?

A knock at my door makes me jump a little. I look at my alarm clock to see I still have thirty minutes before Car and I leave for school. Caroline and her over achieving self must need to go to school for some event or party she is planning. I don't know how she juggles the plethora of things she does, it's a talent.

"Car, if you are going to school early, just go with out me. I will just catch a ride with Elena and Bonnie! Sorry I am just no ready yet." I shout as I sit on my bed. My head sinks into my hands, letting out a yawn. Maybe I could skip today and just sleep. Caroline wouldn't snitch on me, but I would be messing up my perfect attendance.

The door to my room creaks open and a soft voice follows. "Camellia, nice to see you too. You know after you broke out of the hospital and didn't bother to call me to tell me what was happening."

A lump of guilt form in my throat. I left my head out of my hands to see Liz standing in front of my with her arms crossed. Even though she is trying to look mad I see a glimpse of worry in her brown eyes. This was the woman who took me in at the age of five, without anyone having to ask her too. Liz had raised me alongside Caroline, like I was her second daughter. Since school has started I haven't even had the chance to speak with her, with all the weird things going on.

"Liz, I am really sorry. Hospitals make me anxious, and I couldn't take on second longer in that place. Don't be mad at Caroline, I begged her to break me out." I bite at my lower lip while standing up to speak to her. Liz is about six inches taller than me, so I have to slightly look up when I talk to her, making her seem more intimidating than she already is. To me she is the perfect person.

Liz huffed chuckled at me, pulling me into a hug. "You know Cami, you reminded me of your mom just then. She never let anyone take blame for anything, and she was also a terrible liar." Liz was the only one I let call me Cami. That was my mom's nickname for me, and hearing it reminded me of her. However when Liz said it, instead of sadness I felt comfort. "I guess I can't be too surprised you started causing a little trouble. Ronnie always did make this place more fun by all the crazy things she did."

I couldn't tell which part she thought I was lying about, but I didn't feel like dwelling on it. "So you aren't mad at me?" When I pull out of the hug I see a small grin on her face, and the guilt goes away.

"Only if you promise you won't be as crazy as your mother was. I don't know if I could handle a high maintenance Caroline and a out of control Camellia."

"No more trouble!" I laugh with a toothy smile. "It is strange to think my serious, researcher/teacher mother was once the troublemaker around here."

"Cami, if only you knew."

* * *

Ironically enough Caroline had left to go to school early, and left me a note on the front door. According to the note she had things she had to get done before the first cheer practice today. Elena and Bonnie insisted on picking me up, because they said missing more school wouldn't be a good idea. My best friends, always looking out for me.

"You never did text me about what is going on between you and Damon!" Elena scoffs giving me a look. Her lips are pursed in a straight line and her one eye brow is sticking up higher than the other.

When I look at Bonnie for help she is wearing the same look as Elena, meaning there is no way I am escaping this conversation. "I didn't text you because there is nothing to tell. Damon and I are friends...I guess." My knuckles tighten around my school bag. I hated lying, but I couldn't exactly tell them the truth.

"Friends or _friends_?" Bonnie snickers quietly, so no one around us on the sidewalk leading to school can hear us.

"Bonnie! I haven't even had my first boyfriend. What makes you think I would sleep with Damon Salvatore?" I hiss, my cheeks blush a dark red. My innocence was very intact and I didn't plan on changing that until I have fallen in love. "Shouldn't we be grilling Elena on her relationship with the other brother."

Elena gives me a pretend look of betrayal for throwing the conversation her way. She stops walking and gives Bonnie a look. Bonnie had expressed skepticism over their dating and it was quite random since at first she was all for them getting together.

"I just want you to be careful, both of you." Bonnie reaffirms.

"And by both of us she mean you Elena, because I am NOT WITH DAMON." I said emphasizing the 'not with Damon' part.

Elena gives me a soft shove and points her finger at Bonnie. "You were the one who said to go for it; that I was making lame excuses."

Bonnie shrugs with a unconvincing smile. "Now all I am saying is take it slow."

My phone chimes, causing Elena and Bonnie to give me a look. I roll my eyes at the two of them while I pull it out of my bag. There could be other people texting me except Damon...but Damon was actually the one who did text me.

Damon: You are ditching class after lunch. I will be waiting out front.

Me: I can't miss school right now. Sorry, I will have to pass.

Damon: Cute, you thought I was asking. See you later ;)

He can't be serious? I look up to make sure they weren't reading my texts over my shoulder. Bonnie and Elena were still chatting about Stefan. Chills went through my body when I heard his name; all I could think of was Damon saying Stefan had killed Violet. Or as Damon put it 'practically drained her of blood.'

"Lia, what do you think?" Elena's voice pushes through my thoughts. I look at both of them with blank eyes. Not one word of their conversation had been heard, seeing as I was wrapped up in my own thoughts.

"Are we still talking about Stefan." Elena shakes her head yes. "I don't really know him...uh I.." My words drift off as I look over and see Matt waving at me with a big smile. Yes, Matty to the rescue. "I don't know him, and it would be wrong to assume. I hate to run, but I think I am going to go say hi to Matt and Tyler." Elena groans and waves me away.

What did she want me to do? Lie and say Stefan is a great guy? How would I know that?

I walk up to Tyler, Matt, and Lucas with a smile. Lucas and Matt are passing the ball back and forth while Tyler watches. When Tyler makes eyes contact with me he almost seems annoyed; he swiftly looks away. I too look away, startled at his reaction to me.

"Have you guys heard? Little Lia was flirting with some guy at the bar the other day. Rumor has it she even went to his house after. " Lucas teases.

Tyler jaw tightens, and Matt looks at me with a grin. Could this be why Tyler seems irritated by me? There is no way he is jealous. He is with Vikki.

"Is that so? Who is the lucky guy?" Matt tosses the ball to Lucas, and my eyes are still on Tyler, who seems to be looking anywhere else.

"That guy would be a friend, nothing else." I inform, throwing daggers with my eyes at Lucas. Lucas didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. He has probably been telling everyone I picked up some guy at the Mystic Grill Bar. Everyone who knows me would know it's not true, except for Tyler obviously. Gosh, I don't understand him.

"Speaking of people flirting. Look who is walking this way: Stefan and Elena." Tyler sneers. We all look towards them. The two are laughing, bright eyed and smiling.

Matt's face falls and he clenches his jaw in annoyance at Tyler. "What do you want me to do Ty? She made her choice." Matt's tone is harsh, but I would be the same way if I was him. He shouldn't have pointed them out.

Tyler intercepts the ball Lucas throws to Matt. He ignores the protest from Lucas and Matt who are giving him dirty looks.

Tyler's brown eyes burn into me, for the first time since I approached he is looking me directly in the eyes. "Sometimes you have to let people know they are making the wrong choice." With one swift movement he throws a football at the back of Stefan's head.

Stefan is standing by Elena a couple yards away, and he turned away from us. A gasp comes from within me as I watch Stefan spin around just in time to catch the football. I look at Tyler whose face is one of utter disbelief. I look down with a small smile, looks like vampire senses trump raging teenage stupidness.

* * *

"Look who finally showed up." Damon smirks while I slide into the passenger seat of his car. He slides his aviators back onto his eyes, putting the car in drive.

"You called, literally, over twenty times." I give him a cross look. Skipping school was breaking my perfect attendance streak. This was disappointing, but there was a lingering yearning inside of me for answers on what was going on with me. And Damon had those answer, so here I am ditching class.

"I told you to be here after lunch. You are lucky I didn't come in to get you." His car jump starts and we take off out of the school parking lot.

"Where are we going?"

"You will see." Damon eyes are straight ahead, not giving anything away.

I lean my head against the seat, taking a deep breathe. Would he tell me about Violet today? The picture Damon gave me yesterday was hidden in my room, but when I closed my eyes I could still see it as if it was in my hands in this moment. There was a look of pure happiness that I never seen on that girls face. She was looking at the child like he or she was her whole world. It's how I imagined my mother looked at me when I was that age.

Moments later I feel Damon grab my arm. "Here we are! Lets go, we can't waste precious sunlight." The door slams on his side before I open my eyes.

When my open them I see we have stopped on a dirt road by the forest. There doesn't seem to be anything around. Damon is already headed in the woods, and he doesn't show any signs of slowing down. I quickly get of the car and shut the door. The smell of pine hits me as I run towards to Damon to catch up with him.

"Why didn't you wait?" I say slightly out of breathe.

Damon ignores my question and keeps walking to wherever we are going. Minutes later we stop in front of what looks like ruins to an old home. "Alright, where are we?"

"I don't know, you brought me here." Lines scrunch up on my forehead as I block the sunlight coming through the trees. I look around at the tall grass and old wood broken down everywhere. Where in town were we? I had never seen this place.

"Sure you do." Damon sits down on a big piece of wood, looking at me for the answer.

"I have never been here in my life." my voice is slightly angry as I again insist I don't know where we are. Annoyance is bubbling inside of me. Did he seriously drag me out here to confuse me?

"I will be sitting here when you figure it out." he puts his arm out as if to tell me to look around. I trudge farther into the diminished home. Nothing looks familiar, not that I thought it would.

My foot catches on a tree and I go tumbling to the ground. Just in time, my hands jut out and I catch myself. My hands dig into the dirt as I attempt to push myself up.

"You are wasting your time!" Damon shouts over to me. That is it, I want to go back to school this is useless. If I want answer I will find another way.

With one hard push I get back on my feet to see a blinding white light engulf me. With my hands shielding my eyes, I feel a cool feeling breeze glide past me.

Suddenly screams rip my hands away from my face. What just happened? A girl is laying on a bed next next to me. Beads of sweat drip down her face with every new yell. Her white gown is sticking to her barely covered body. There is a woman next to her holding her hand and another one by her propped up feet, telling her to push. In that moment I knew the girl giving birth as Violet. She was the girl form the picture.

Another scream comes from deep within her, and with it comes a cry of a baby. "Is it a boy or girl?" Violet asks, sounding exhausted. Her body collapses back into the bed.

"It's a girl my lady." the woman that told her to push says. A blanket is swaddled around the tiny human; the little girls cries die down as the warm blanket touches her skin.

"May I hold her?" The words are barely a whisper, but the woman heard her. As the child is handed to Violet the door to the room swings open to reveal Damon, but he is not the one I drove to the woods with. His clothes are old fashioned, worry is practically radiating from his being, and he seems softer than the man I know.

"Violet, I uhh.. I shouldn't have come in...I was just-"

"Damon, would you like to hold her?" Violet cuts in with a weak smile. Damon's eyes got between her and the baby she has in her arms. His head slightly shakes back and forth, but he walks towards her stunned. The two women excuse themselves as Damon walk towards the tired girl.

"What name have you given her." His arms stretch towards the now sleeping baby.

"You, Damon Salvatore, may call her Elli." Violet stares at Damon as he pick up the little girl.

The look on Damon's face is indescribable. He looks like he is holding the most precious object on earth. For a second I think he may faint.

The room starts to shake, but it is only me who notices. Another flash blinds me, causing me to cover my eyes once again. This time my hands are torn from my face by someone else's hand.

Damons ocean-blue eyes are looking at me. His mouth is moving, but I don't hear any words.

"Lia, Lia say something." his voice finally pops through my daze.

"What happened to Violet and Elli?" I feel tears welling in my eyes, yet I am not happy nor sad, simply overwhelmed. Seconds ago I had been standing in the house that once stood tall on this land, watching a girl who could be my twin give birth.

"What triggered your powers?" Damon is holding tightly to my two arms, giving me a serious look.

"Tell me Stefan didn't kill them."

"How did it happen Lia?"

"I got angry!" I shout in Damon's face, only inches from him. My whole body is trembling. His hands release my arms, and I let out a deep sigh.

Strong emotions were what caused my strange abilities to come to the surface. The utter surprise broke the glass at the bar the other day, and the fear of Vikki dying caused my to use my powers to save her life. It all made sense now.

This little trip to the woods, and taunting me was to get a ruse out of me to see if I could get my power flowing.

"You knew this would happen didn't you."

Damon cocks his head to the side with a shrug. "I had a hunch."

"What now?"

"Now begins the part where you help me."


	6. Chapter 6

My little field trip with Damon caused me to miss cheer practice, and Caroline was livid. She claimed there wasn't anything I could do to make up for this, but give it a couple days, and I am sure she will be over it, stressing over something new.

Bonnie and Elena weren't too thrilled either, it was Elena's first time back to cheer practice since her parents passed. Elena, Caroline, Bonnie and I had all been cheerleaders since we were little girls. I felt guilty that I wasn't there for Elena's coming back, I know it couldn't have been easy; her mother was the one who pushed her into staying with cheer, because it made her happy to see us all cheer together.

I open the front door to Elena's house. Since I had skipped out on practice, I told Elena I would come to dinner at her house. She felt Bonnie and I hadn't given Stefan a fair chance. To be honest, she was right. Ever since Damon had said what he did about Violet I hadn't given Stefan much of a chance.

I walk into the kitchen to see Elena and Bonnie dumping things from food containers into proper bowls. "Elena, I see your cooking skills are still excellent."

Bonnie lets out a laugh, while Elena rolls her eyes at the both of us. Elena collects the plastic containers and puts them in the recycle bin. "I just want tonight to be perfect! So, that means you two need to actually give him a chance."

I walk over to Bonnie, helping her gather plates and utensils for the kitchen table. "Lia, explain this. Last night I was watching my favorite TV show, and when it cut for a commercial break I just knew it was going to be that phone commercial. And sure enough it was!"

Bonnie was still freaking out about her Gram telling her that she is a witch. Every time she brings it up I wonder if that is what I am? Could that be the reason I posses this ability? Or was there another reason?

"Nice way to change the subject Bonnie." Elena scoffs playfully, following us into the kitchen, so when can set the table. "Plus, that commercial is a constant loop. Seems more like a coincidence."

"Fine." Bonnie puts down the utensils by the last plate set. Her face lifts, looking at us with seriousness in her eyes. "How about this. Today, I am obsessed with three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?"

I look at her from across the table, considering what she has said. What significance could three numbers hold? "Have you asked anyone else their opinion?

"Well, Lucas saw me writing down the numbers during our science lab. Which, you left me alone in!" I bit my lower lip feeling bad that I had let my perfect attendance falter. Plus, with Lucas being sort of a class clown I am sure they didn't accomplish everything they needed to without me. "You know what he told me? He told me that I was probably one of those weird people who would claim to know the next 'doom day'."

Elena and I both burst out with laughter. I clench my stomach as sit down in one of the chairs. "Or maybe we should play the lottery. You could be seeing winning numbers."

Bonnie raises her eyebrows at Elena's comment, clearly not thinking this was funny. "Okay, okay we are sorry for laughing. Maybe you should ask Grams. She always has an answer to these things." I put my elbows on the table and lower my head into my hand.

Bonnie lets out a groan, and she slumps into the seat on the other side of the table from me. "She is going to tell me it's because I am a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you?"

If being a witch explained what was going on with me, then yeah I would gladly be a witch. All I really wanted at this point is an explanation, or something to make sense of everything.

"I don't want to be a witch!" Elena spits out with certainty. She leans against the back of the chair she is standing behind.

"Can I attend Hogwarts?" I give them a small grin as I ask. Who doesn't love Harry Potter?

"Lia, you are too much to handle sometimes." Elena laughs. "We are missing something….the serving spoons." Elena walks out of the room and towards the kitchen.

"Middle drawer on your left." The words spew out of Bonnie's mouth, before she realizes what she was saying. Her green eyes widen, and we both simultaneously look up at each other.

From the kitchen you can hear the drawer open slowly. "Okay, so you have been in the kitchen like a thousand times." Elena says, her voice not convincing anyone in the room.

"Yeah, that's it." Bonnie sighs. My mouth opens to say something, but the doorbell interrupts our conversation.

Elena runs out of the kitchen and towards the door, stopping right before opening it. She turns to us with a bright smile. "No one be nervous. Just be your normal, loving selves."

* * *

Dinner was quiet, and slightly awkward. Things were so silent I could hear Elena's fork slide across her teeth when she took a bite of her food. Elena swallows her food and lets out a deep sigh, giving both Bonnie and I a look. To avoid her annoyed look, I play with the food on my plate. What should I say? I don't even know how to start a conversation with him.

"Lia, Stefan is now our newest football player. Tanner let him join the team." Elena informs me. "Lia is a cheerleader too. She just missed practice for….wait, you never explained why you missed."

Still twirling the fork, I look up at Stefan. Tanner was a jerk most of the time, so it's a little surprising he let Stefan on the team. He must be a really good player. "You know how my migraines are, once I get them if I don't take meds and sleep them off I get sick. I just went home and laid down." I give Stefan a small smile, acknowledging his placement on the team. "It's nice that Tanner let you on the team. We all know how he can be." I give a small laugh, wanting to lighten the mood. Awkwardness has been heavily surrounding us.

Stefan looks at me, his face serious and his eyes looking into mine. Not the response I thought he would give me, but then it hits me. He knows I am lying about why I didn't attend practice. Uneasiness fills me, he wouldn't call me out on it would he?

Stefan cleared his throat, nodding his head. "I am glad to be apart of the team."

Elena gives an approving smile, and then sets her sight on Bonnie. One friend down, one to go. "Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at his head and—"

Bonnie puts down her fork, cutting her off. "Yeah, I heard."

Elena takes a sip of her soda, slightly steaming from the ears. I give Bonnie a slight nudge under the table, with my hand. She pretends like she didn't notice. I wasn't going to force her to like Stefan, but it would be nice if she could pretend. I still didn't know how I felt about him, but I was playing nice.

Elena who is resilient and doesn't give up easy, tries again. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

Bonnie narrows her eyes, and frowns for a slight second. But, she bounces back quickly. "Um divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." Bonnie had avoided that question like a pro. "Lia, I was just thinking. Are you going to need our notes from today's class that you missed?"

No way was I going to let her turn this conversation back to me. "Bonnie, I don't think that was what Elena was asking." As I take a sip of my Dr. Pepper I feel Bonnie whack me on the leg. I practically spit out my drink from surprise.

"Yea, Lia's right. I was talking about the witches." Stefan looks directly at Bonnie when Elena says witches. And it gives me the feeling that he knows something. "Bonnies family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool." Elena's says the last couple of words through clenched teeth.

"Cool isn't the word I'd use." Bonnie refutes, her lips not cracking a smile.

Stefan breaks into the tension. "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came by way of Salem" Bonnie answers. Seems like Stefan has no peaked her interest with this witch talk.

"Really? Salem witches?

"Yeah." Bonnie chuckles giving a toothy grin.

Elena and I both smile at each other. Looks like Stefan may have just won Bonnie over.

"I would say that's pretty cool." Stefan announces.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie questions with curiosity.

"Salem Witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity." Bonnie smiles at his explanation. With the tension diffused we all kind of seem calmer, and all have a smile on our faces. When the door bell rings there is a look of confusion on our faces.

"Do you want me to get it, Elena?" Elena wipes her mouth, which has food in it, and nods her head at me.

I walk towards the front of the house wondering who it is. Maybe Jeremy had locked himself out or something. When I open the door to see Damon and Caroline my mouth parts into an 'o'

"Surprise! Damon came over looking for you, and I told him Bonnie said something about all of you having dinner, so we brought dessert!" Caroline smiles.

I hear chairs move around in the kitchen and seconds later Elena is standing next to me with a questioning look on her face. Damon has a smirk on his face, and he gives me a wink.

"Hope you don't mind Elena. My girlfriend here never mentioned she wouldn't be home tonight." Elena looks at me with her eyebrows raised when Damon expresses again that I am his girlfriend.

I let out a groan of frustration. Did he have to keep saying that? Friends was just as good as of a cover story, for us spending time together. Caroline shoves the cake into my hands and breezes past us into the house.

Stefan walks up to us with a displeased look on his face when he sees Damon in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"As I just explained to Elena, I am here for my girlfriend. Now, I am waiting for Elena to let me in."

"No, no, no. He can't uh….he can't stay"

I hadn't learned all there was to know about vampires, but I am assuming from what is going on that Damon can't come in without Elena's permission. Now why Stefan is fighting so hard to not have him come in, that I am not sure about.

"We might as well let him crash our dinner party since him and Caroline brought cake." I suggest walking towards the door to grab Damon's arm. He had some explaining to do.

Stefan grabs my arm in a tight hold, not allowing me to go any further. "We are just finishing up."

I look up at him confused, but before I can speak up Elena tells him to just come in. Damon grabs my other arm, and tugs me out of Stefan's hold. "There's my girl." He gives the top of my head a kiss as he wraps he arm around my shoulder."

"Damon, I thought we went over this girlfriend thing."

"Nonsense, I like the title, so I will continue saying it."

I roll my eyes and let it go. For now, that is.

* * *

The dinner party was coming to an end, with nothing unusual happening. Caroline said something inappropriate without thinking about it, causing a little bit of a fuss. Stefan and Damon had their weird bother hatred tension thing going, which is there every time I am around them. And Bonnie and I stayed calm the whole time, just listening to what everyone had to say.

Now that things were winding down Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and Damon were cleaning up in the kitchen. Stefan and I were putting the living room back other.

"Lia, can I ask you something." Stefan breaks the silence.

We had been putting the pillows back on their couches and folding the used blankets in silence. It wasn't awkward, I just didn't have anything to say.

"Yeah, you can. What's up." I put a now folded blanket of the side of the arm chair I had sat in with Damon. He refused to let me sit alone. Part of the whole girlfriend/boyfriend charade he was trying to suck me into being a part of.

"Why do you trust Damon?" As he asks this I stop moving to go pick up a couch pillow. I could see why he was asking, because the way Damon had drugged me twice and almost pushed Vikki off a roof would make it seem strange that I was okay being around him.

I sit down on the nearest couch and look at him with a small smile. "It's not that I trust him, I just don't distrust him. My life has been full of strange occurrences lately. I don't know why or what to do, but Damon said he could help me. So I am choosing to ignore that he can sometimes be a real, and hoping he can truly help me."

Stefan takes a seat next to me, understanding where I was coming from. "I can help you. For the most part we both know the same things about Violet. If you put your trust in me I will you the whole truth, all if it." I can tell he is being honest, and all the eeriness I had about him disappears. "Don't trust Damon, I am afraid he is just using you for something."

I choose to ignore his comment about Damon. He had done nothing, but help me find some clarity on Violet. And even though Damon had mentioned I was going to need to help him in return, he hadn't told me how yet. He said the time would come, it just wasn't now. Maybe I could trust them both, until they give me a reason otherwise. What is the worst that could happen?

"You want my trust? Answer me this, is Bonnie a witch?" I whisper, looking around to make sure no one is coming this way.

"Yes, I believe she is."

"What about me?"

"I don't know. Violet never said she was or wasn't, we just assumed she was. But, there is something different about what you guys are able to do. You don't need to chant spells or use magical things, your power just does what you want it to. I have never met another witch like that."

I didn't know what to think. All of this information at once was giving me a headache. I may or may not be a witch. I shouldn't trust Damon. I don't know what to do. I don't know what I am, and everything I thought I knew about this world had completely changed in less than a span of a week. How is one supposed to handle this kind of life?

* * *

The days before the game seemed to drag on. Caroline and I held practice every day, making sure everyone was up to par on the cheers. Damon had been busy 'looking into things', so I hadn't seen him since the night of the dinner. My life seemed to be school, practice, homework, and then bed. I was glad it was now Friday, and game day on top of that.

I am walking around the parking lot, where people are tailgating. Football was a serious thing in our little town; It brought everyone together.

The cheerleaders were allowed to hang out with friends before the pep rally, so I was walking around enjoying the smell of hamburgers and hot dogs, talking to people about our soon to be first football game of the season.

As I walk away from Jeremy and his friends I see Stefan walking towards me. "Hey Lia, you ready for tonight?"

"Of course. There is nothing better than cheering our boys on. Good luck out there, you will be great." Stefan smiles at me, and pulls out a little box from his pocket.

"Violet gave this to Damon a long time ago. He left in the house, and I was digging through things the other day and found it. You should have it." Stefan hands me the red velvet box.

I open it to see a beautiful alexandrite ring. The band looked stems woven together, and right by the gem were little flowers etched out in the silver band.

"They say alexandrites posses magic. When you are outside the gem is a blue color, but when you are indoors it's a raspberry color."

"Stefan, it's amazing. Thank you!" I slide the ring on my finger and I feel a coolness run through me, like something just changed. I ignore it, it's probably just excitement.

* * *

"Can you believe we crushed those guys? I knew we would win, but that was an amazing game." I slide my cheer jacket on and pick up my cheer bag. With a glance over my shoulder, I make sure Bonnie is ready to go.

"Still a little bummed Elena quit the team though." Bonnie said with a pretend pout.

Elena had told us right before the game that she no longer wanted to cheer, that it wasn't the same anymore. I didn't blame her. Why continue doing something if you don't love it?

"Caroline Forbes, are you ready to go? I am starving!" I shout, anticipating that she can hear me across the locker room.

Caroline pops her head out from behind a row of lockers behind us. "I am not done! Give me like five minutes. Go start the car or something, if you are so impatient." Caroline gives me a don't-mess-with-me look, then goes back to changing.

"Guess I should obey Queen Caroline's order." I chuckle, turning to leave. We bicker like sister, but we love each other at the end of the day. That is just how family is, and her and Liz are the closet I have to family.

"Hey, I heard that! Bonnie wait for me." Caroline orders, slightly whining.

I walk out of the locker room. My eyes catch the sight of my new ring. This used to be on the finger of someone who was just like me. A girl who found a way to control herself, enough to bring a child into her life at least. Hope, I have hope that I will be able to do the same someday.

I exit the school, and hear a loud groan/scream. It sounds like it is just around the corner of the building. Instincts take over, and I find myself running towards where the noise came from. Pounding against the ground, my feet carry me around to the other side of the building. When I reach the other side it's like déjà vu. There, laying a couple feet away, is a body.

For a second the world around me stops. Scraping against the ground, my knees collide with the asphalt as I kneel beside the body. A hot substance puddles around me. The blood smears onto my hands as I check his neck for his pulse. That's when I see two bites marks, the marks of a vampire.

"No, no, no Mr. Tanner can you hear me? Coach Tanner." I raise off the ground, now covered in blood that is not mine. "Help! Someone help me!" I scream. A breeze comes past me, and Stefan is suddenly standing next to me.

"Lia, are you okay." He grabs my shoulder, looking into my terrified eyes, but I can't find the words to talk. "Lia just tell me you are okay."

My lips part as Matt and Bonnie run up to us. "He's dead, Tanner is dead." A feeling of numbness takes over my body and I start to fall. Stefan grabs me around the waist, holding me tight as we both sink to the ground.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie yelps. She walks over to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. "The numbers…..it's the number.

I watch her eyes as I see the number eight on the side of the building, the number fourteen on the license plate across from Tanner, and he is laying dead in spot twenty-two. No longer can I hold in my emotions. I break down, sobs wracking out of me. Hot tears spill down my face.

"Did Damon do this?" I ask in a soft whisper, barely choking the words out.

Stefan runs his finger through my hair, letting me lean against him. "Yes, yes he did."

A/N: Thank you so much for the support and comments! I really appreciate all of you :) I hope you like this chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Here I was again, in the presence of the girl who was identical to me. The girl's white iris's beam as I appear in the garden I had seen her in before. This time I recognized the place we were in. When I had seen Violet in that vision, the day Damon took me to the ruins of his old house, outside the window had been a garden just like this one.

"This is where Violet lived, when she stayed with Damon and Stefan?" My hands skim the top of a rose bush; the red flowers beautiful in the sunlight. As I walked past her, in her pure white gown, I feel her eyes follow me.

"That ring is quite beautiful. I am glad it found its place on your finger." Her voice is gentle, and I can hear her smile.

What does she know about the ring? I think about asking, but there really isn't a point. Everything I ask is followed by an unrelated statement or question. Part of me still believes she is all in my mind.

I thought about asking Damon if Violet had every said anything about a girl visiting her dreams at night, but he would have just mad some sarcastic comment about me being crazy.

I stop when the bush ends, and turn to look at her. "What happened to Violet and Elli?"

A smile crosses the girl's lips, a twinkle in her eye makes me think she is reliving memories. I step closer, and the girl shakes her head, coming back to reality. If you could call this reality.

"Violet lays in the past now; you should focus on the here and now."

Violet lays in the past? How can you go on with your future if you don't know your past? My hands comb through my hair, trying to wrap my mind around her. What can I say to her to get answers?

"Can you tell me anything? Maybe like, who are you? Am I witch? What do you know about this ring? Something or anything?" The desperation in my voice is evident, and I can't contain it. Pulling my hand out of my hair, I hold up my hand, showing the ring to her.

She takes a couple seconds to contemplate what to say or do next. Her arms fold behind her back, she strides towards me, stopping a couple feet away.

"You believe you are a witch?"

That is what she got out of everything I just said. Tears well in my eyes from annoyance.

I go to respond, but the girl cuts me off. "You have a visitor."

* * *

A soft hand brushes a piece of hair off my face. When I open my eyes I find myself staring into two ocean-blue eyes. Damon.

My body jolts upwards, pulling my covers up to my neck. I only sleep in long t-shirts when I go to bed, and the thought he might have noticed that causes a rush of heat on my cheeks.

"Damon! What are you doing here?" I try not to let my voice get too loud. If Caroline hears me she might just burst in the room to see what is going on, without any thought of my privacy. Both of my hands clutch my gray duvet, holding it under my chin.

"Just came to make sure my girlfriend wasn't thinking of breaking our deal." Damon pushes my body over, so that he is sitting next to me on my bed. His hands go behind his head, making himself comfy.

My brows furrow together in question as I process what he talking about. Tanner's dead body flashes through my mind, a wave of nausea accompanies. Instantly I don't care if Damon see's me in just a long t-shirt, I jump out of my bed. He had murdered Tanner last night.

"Why would you kill him? Damon, people don't exist for your pleasure!" Moving swiftly, I go to my closet and grab pair of jeans and a nice shirt. I go into the bathroom to quickly change. When I see myself in the mirror I cringe; my eyes had circle's under them, my skin a shade paler than normal and my hair was a rat's nest.

Last night had left me shaken up. When I went home I stood in the shower until the water turned cold, scrubbing off Tanner's blood. The three numbers Bonnie had told me about continuously going through my mind in an endless loop. She had subconsciously known his death was coming.

After changing and brushing my unruly mess of hair, I walk back to see Damon in the same place. Catching a glimpse of my ring in my mirror, I slide it off my finger. Looking at it just made me slightly annoyed at my answerless life.

"He was a point that needed to be proved." The words came out of Damon's mouth like human life was only a disposable thing that he could end without guilt. "Let's move on to why I really came; I need you to invite me to the Founder's Party."

I wanted to be furious. He kills Tanner, disregards it as no big deal, and then **_tells_** me I need to take him to the Founder's Party. I want to scream, say things that would make him realize what he was doing was wrong, but I doubt I would leave an impression on him. Damon doesn't seem like the type of person who would admit he had feelings about anything he did.

I thought I had wanted answers, but if chaos is the price to pay to get them, then I will stop looking.

"Damon, I need a break. Right now all I want is normalcy. Sorry, but I can't take you to the Founder's Party." Damon's face scrunched up as he listened to my words. I knew he wasn't going to be happy with me, but that was the last of my concerns.

"Lia—" The sound of my ringtone breaks into what Damon was trying to say. I rush over to my night stand, taking my phone off the charger.

"Mrs. Lockwood, how are you this morning?" I point my finger towards the window, signaling to Damon that he needs to leave. Turning around, a whoosh of wind lets me know Damon listened to my request.

I grab my keys off my door knob, ready to meet up with Lucas.

" _Camellia, are you still going to bring over your mother's heirlooms this morning? Or should I send Tyler?"_

* * *

"What exactly are we looking for?" Lucas asks. Lucas's chocolate brown hair moves with the wind.

I heave the door to my storage space up, a loud bang letting me know it's fully up and set in place. The last time I had been here was this time last year.

"All of my mother's heirlooms are in a fancy wooden box with the name Koyne on." I can't remember in what box I had put the large jewelry box in. Our family had many things passed on from generation to generation that I didn't bother keep it all at the Forbes's house; it would take up too much space.

All the boxes look the same; black writing on all of them, taped up down the middle, and torn at the edges. They had been sitting her since I was little. Only being touched every once and a while.

"I found a cardboard box that has your last name on it, Erela".

I look over to him in surprise. There was a box with my last name on it? Lucas holds up the medium sized box, shaking it slowly.

Koyne was my mother's maiden name and Erela was the last name of the guy she conceived me with. It was still strange to me that she didn't just put down her maiden name, since she never mentioned much about my dad the whole time she was in my life.

"Lucas, don't shake it! What if there is something valuable in there?" I laugh, tripping over things as I grab the box from his hand.

It was a little on the heavy side for being such a small box. Kneeling down, I open the box to see there is a tiny velvet box on top of these large, dust covered books. The velvet box draws my attention; I had never seen this box before. Then again, being in this storage place made me think of my deceased mother, so I rarely spent any time in here. There were probably several boxes I hadn't opened.

"What is it?" Lucas's deep brown eyes watch my hands open the black velvet box.

Inside is a locket, one I have never seen before. When I open the locket I see a familiar looking symbol. The name of the symbol is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't het it out. I brush my finger across the silver locket, then undo the clasp on it. I wanted to know more about this locket, so why not wear it out of here.

"Lia, I see the box we are looking for." I look up to see Lucas gesturing towards a box that in big black letters says, 'Founder Party Stuff."

"Should have known I would do something like that to remember which one to take out." I stand up and face Lucas, with the locket in hand. He looks it over, analyzing what it's every detail. "Will you put this on for me."

He takes the necklace from my hands, and I turn around for him. His hands brush the back of my neck, causing my little neck hairs to stand up. A shiver runs through my body.

"This might be a bad timing, but I was wondering if I could take you to the Founder's Party." His normal confident tone, seem a little nervous as he asks.

Lucas is a great guy; he's another founder's kid. All of the kids of the founding families knew each other; with out parent's always getting together it was impossible for us not to know each other. This was the normal I needed in my life. A guy I have known forever, asking me on a date is just what I need.

A smile breaks across my face. Holding the locket in one hand, I turn back to him. Lucas is a great friend and maybe if I gave him a chance we could be more, but my stupid crush on Tyler always seems to get in the way of that.

"Lucas Fell, I would love to go to the party with you." I pull him into a hug only breaking apart quickly, because of my phone going off.

 **Bonnie:** Is something going on with you and Damon? Caroline just told me she was going to the Founder's Party with him!

 **Me** : 1) Damon and I aren't a thing. 2) Are you serious? 3) Lucas Fell just asked me :)

A groan escapes me as I realize what Damon is doing; if I wouldn't take him he would find another founding family member to. Did it really have to be Caroline? I swear he is doing this to get under my skin.

"You okay?" Lucas places his hands on my shoulder, shaking me lightly. He takes every chance he can to mess with me, and to make me laugh. It was my favorite trait of his.

I give him a small grin. "Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and I always go to the Founder's Party together, but this year we all have dates, except for Bonnie. I feel bad."

 **Me** : Damon, what are you up to? Please don't screw around with Caroline's feelings!

"Don't tell me this is your way of blowing me off tonight Little Lia. I would be thoroughly upset." Lucas teases, releasing my shoulder so he can go get the box he pointed out earlier.

"I would never do that! You know me better than that." I throw a couple packing peanuts at Lucas as Damon responds to me.

 **Damon** : No can do blonde beauty! My girlfriend, aka you, turned me down and Caroline was more than happy to replace you. Why, jealous?

There is no way I was going to let Damon escort Caroline to the Founder's Party. And it wasn't because I was jealous! I don't know what Damon is up to, and the last thing I need is for Damon to somehow hurt Caroline. She may seem above all when it comes to self-esteem, but she was sensitive at heart.

"Alight Lucas, lets get out of here. Looks like I have more to do then I thought I did."

* * *

"What do you think? Gorgeous, right?" Caroline twirls around in a blue dress, with a light white shawl covering her shoulders. As always, Caroline looks perfect. I move the hangers in my closet over, looking for the dress I was going to wear. "Damon picked it out for me."

The hangers come to a halt. Damon told her what dress to wear? Caroline never does things just because someone told her to; she is more independent than that. Plus, she loves to be in control.

Caroline stops twirling to rummage around in her jewelry container, looking for the right accessories. My silver dress catches me eye, and I pull it out.

"Car, why do you want to go with Damon? You could go with any other guy?" I pull my silver dress on, attempting to zip up the back by myself. Hopefully that didn't come off jealous sounding, because that was not my intentions.

Caroline rolls her eyes at me, and comes over to help. Her fingers wiggle the zipper, pulling it up. "Why does it matter? You turned down your own boyfriend, and I wanted a date. It all works out perfectly."

We both look in the mirror as she zips up the rest of my dress. The smile on Caroline's face is bright and beautiful. Caroline is like my sister, of course all I want for her is to be happy. Guilt pulls at my stomach. Why shouldn't I let Damon take her to the Founder's Party? Other than the fact he has homicidal tendencies? I will just keep a close eye on the two.

"Aren't you the least bit concerned about what your mom is going to say when she sees you with him?" I know I am a tad concerned about what she will say when she see's Lucas and I together. I can only imagine what will Liz think when she see's Caroline with an older guy like Damon.

"What does it matter? It's not like she truly cares; she's never around anyway. That badge is all she cares about." I feel the bite in her words. Those two don't have the best relationship, and it saddens me to no end. But, arguing with Caroline was like arguing with a boulder, no matter what she didn't budge.

"Lucas Fell asked me to go to the Founder's Party with him!" I squeal, changing the subject. No reason to get in an argument right before the party, or at all for that matter.

Her mood completely changes immediately. "Lia, yay! This the first time we both of dates. Let celebrate, I think there is some bourbon down stairs!" Just like that she dashes out of our shared bedroom, our previous conversation forgotten.

 **Me to Damon** : Be nice to Caroline, she is really excited for tonight.

* * *

Sure enough, when Caroline and I enter the Lockwood's house with our dates, Liz pulls us aside.

"You two didn't tell me you had dates for tonight." Liz looks over at Lucas and Damon who are now talking to each other. Not sure I like the thought of that.

"You never really asked!" Caroline snaps back, with a forced smile. Caroline looks at all the people around us, not wanting to draw bad attention to the three of us.

It's pretty obvious Caroline doesn't want to be having this conversation right now. I shuffle my feet a little in my black flats, feeling a little anxious. I probably should have given her a heads up. That would have been the right thing to do.

"You know Cami, I always thought Lucas Fell had a crush on you." I look up at Sheriff Forbes, who is still in her uniform, when she says that. I had expected a stern 'be careful' or 'you are too young to be dating'. "Caroline, don't you think Damon is a little old for you? He isn't even in high school."

I close my eyes letting out a sigh. Here we go.

"Really mom? You compliment Lia on who she brings, but of course my date isn't substantial." Caroline starts to walk away, and relief spreads through me. I hated seeing them argue, it always felt like I was put in the middle. "By the way Damon is Lia's boyfriend. They just got into a fight, so she came with Lucas instead."

Caroline gives one more fake smile to the both of us, and goes towards Damon and Lucas. My jaw drops as she walks away. Did she really just throw me under the bus like that?

"Lia, you are dating Damon Salvatore?" Liz sounds hurt, more than she is mad. And I draw a blank on what to say. Her blue eyes look at me, like she is seeing a new person. I am always open with her, no matter what. Not having my mom around was hard, so I found myself relying on her advice. Or Jenna's when Liz wasn't around.

"I know how that sounds, but it is exactly true!"

"Isn't exactly true-"

"Sheriff Forbes, you would mind if I steal my date from you, would you?" Thankfully Lucas had come over to rescue me. Walking away, I can tell she is watching me go. Could this night be over already?


	8. Chapter 8

I am staring outside, at the tent that is covering the dance floor. Hanging from the tent are twinkling lights, making it look magical, or fairytale like. Beauty is different for every person, and fairytale like things are my version of beauty. Maybe it's my unsubsiding belief that even if life isn't perfect, you can still have your version of a fairytale.

"You look like you need a drink." Lucas's hand grazes my shoulder, causing me to jump a little. "Whoa there jumpy, didn't mean to scare you.

I roll my eyes at his light-hearted chuckle. "Sorry, I got lost in thought, and I don't think drinking here is a good idea."

I give a small grin, leaning my head to the side a little as I look at him. He looks where I leaned my head to see Liz and some other sheriff deputies talking to Mayor Lockwood. Behind the deputies I see Tyler Lockwood. For a second his perfect, dark brown eyes look right at me. His lips part into a smile, showing his pearly white teeth.

A hand waves in front of my eyes and I snap out of it.

"Little Lia, you are doing it again. Off in your own little world." Lucas laughs at me as I shake my head, clearing my thoughts.

Lucas's smile grows, his adorable dimples deepening. Lucas may never be my prince charming, but some day he will be somebodies.

What was I thinking when I said yes to him? This guy deserves better, someone who will appreciate him for who he is. Here I am with this good guy, and I admiring my stupid school girl crush from across the room.

"Camellia Koyne, you sure have grown. And on a date with my younger cousin Lucas? What a cute pair."

There are always those people you don't have to see to know who they are; all you have to do is hear their voice. One of those people for me is Lucas Fell. It's hard to not know his voice when he is the voice and face of Mystic Falls News. And I may or may not watch the news most mornings before school.

"It's Camellia Erela, Logan Fall." I reply back kiddingly. Lucas puts an arm around my waist while Logan walks into sight. I shudder at his touch, pulling a way slightly. My remorse building inside of me.

"Both using my name as a pun, and a way to get back for calling you the last wrong name. Clever Camellia, very clever." Logan smiles, his award winning smile. All the bachelorettes practically melt at the sight of him.

I believe him and my mother had been friends. He found her interesting, considering she was kind of a genius. She was his up-and-coming story that led him down the same path his ancestors went down, being the news person.

Jenna absentmindedly walks by us, talking to some people. Logan's attention immediately loses it's focus on Lucas and I, and he calls her over. He has this look in his eye, like his is up to something. I am not sure I like it.

"Jenna, you look beautiful this evening."

I watch as Jenna see's Logan was the one who called her name. However, I am sure, like me, she knew who he was just by the sound of his voice. Jenna's smile falters a little, and she scans right past Logan as if he isn't there. Her eyes go to me and she smiles her toothy smile once again.

"Lia! How are you? That silver dress looks great on you." Her voice is higher pitched than usual. Something tells me she isn't a huge fan of Logan Fell.

I leave Lucas's side to engulf Jenna in a big hug. "It's good to see you Jenna. I haven't talked to you in a while."

"I have missed you Lia! You and Lucas Fell, huh? Hopefully he isn't a cheater like his cousin here."

My eyes widen and jaw drops. When I pull away from the hug I see Logan is a nice red color and Lucas won't even look at him.

"What was here name again...oh that's right Monica." Jenna gulps down the rest of the champagne that she had been holding in one of her hands. "Lucas, you better treat this beautiful girl right."

I look down at my naked fingers, currently wishing I had that ring to fiddle with. Lucas and I weren't a thing, and I didn't want to lead him to believe that. The air around me seems stuffy and I quickly excuse myself from the tension filled situation. I hear Lucas call after me, but I walk down the long hall way and towards the outside.

The fresh air hits me full force, and my eyes catch sight of the happy couples dancing. Not wanting to feel guiltier for accepting Lucas's offer, now realizing people don't really go as friends to these things, I walk in the other direction of the dance floor.

* * *

I find myself shoeless, and standing in front of the pond in the Lockwood's backyard. One hand hugging my other arm, and the other holding my shoes above the ground. Every droplet from the fountain that is hitting the water, sending ripples in the pond, feels like a sting to my skin. I should never have said yes to Lucas. Who was I kidding, you can't force yourself to like someone.

"Lia? What are you doing out here?"

I look over my shoulder to see Tyler Lockwood sauntering over to me, his hands in his dress pants pocket. And here he comes the main reason I can't see myself with Lucas, Tyler.

"Shouldn't you be with your date?" Tyler's voice is a little harsher as he says these words, and I don't know why, but they break me.

"Lucas and I aren't together, okay? I can't seem to get over my feeling for someone else."

I spin around to face him, accidentally dropping my shoes that I had been holding in one hand. As I walk towards Tyler, I find myself talking with my hands, an annoying habit I have.

"Why do you even care? You are with Vikki! And what was with that sly comment the other day when you threw the football at Stefan's head, huh?" I walk closer to him.

The back of my mind was telling me to stop before I said something I regret. All of the anger I had wasn't due to Tyler, only a minuscule part had been. No, I was venting out everything that I was trying to keep inside. It is my pretending to be normal that is eating at me, and I had only been doing it since this morning. That was the real reason why I said no to Damon, and yes to Lucas. Because if I was normal a vampire wouldn't have asked me to the Founder's Party. If I was normal I wouldn't know they existed. If I wasn't some weird witch, maybe I would have gone to a party after the football game, instead of finding Tanner's dead body. If I wasn't a replica of some hundred-year-old person named Violet, maybe, just maybe life would be normal.

Everything was boiling inside of me, and I had a bad feeling, but I couldn't stop spewing out words.

"Lia.." Tyler tries to cut into my crazy rant, which is probably making me look like a nut job. Unfortunately, I keep going.

"Because for a second I thought maybe you were jealous that I could possibly be with someone. For a second I thought maybe Tyler Lockwood likes me back-"

With on swift movement, Tyler closes the couple of inches left between us, grabbing my face in his hands. His soft lips crash into mine. Everything that had been building inside of trickles away. My hands grab his waist, to steady myself since his kiss caught me off guard.

Breathless, we break apart, his forehead leaning against mine. "I broke things off with Vikki a couple days ago. I was even going to ask you to this thing, that is until I heard you were coming with Lucas."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. You didn't deserve any of that, its been a stressful start to school." I bit my lower lip, pulling it in between my teeth. His hand travels from my cheek into my hair, he leans my head down and kisses my forehead. Tyler's chin rest on the top of my head as he speaks. The warmth from his spreads through me, comforting me.

"Yeah, I have heard about your bad streak of luck. I-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, save the rest of your lovey-dovey stuff for later Lockwood." A voice cuts in.

Damon rips Tyler away from me. I barely have time to readjust myself, to keep me from falling. I stumble backwards, a look shock on my face. Damon had come out of no where, damn vampire. For a split second I think Tyler is going to punch Damon for touching him, but Damon restrains Tyler's hands by his side.

Damon's eyes dilate, and he speaks sternly to Tyler. "You suddenly feel thirsty, and need to get yourself a drink. Take your time, like a lot of time."

Damon's eyebrows move up and down at me as Tyler walk away. That smirk he always makes is plastered on his face. Of course Damon would ruin the moment.

"Really Damon, really?" I roll my eyes, and bend down to collect my shoes I had dropped. Every step in the cold, dewed grass bring me back to reality. I came to the party with Lucas, and ended up kissing Tyler. Does that make me an awful person?

"You are in high school; he's not the one, trust me." I ignore him, not replying back as I start walking past him. "Lia, he was just sleeping with the town druggie!" Damon voiced, trying to lessen my anger at him.

Trying to balance on one leg, I start putting back on shoes. When I lose my balance, and start to fall over, Damon rushes to my side. He lets me lean on him so I can put on my other shoe.

"Thank you, but this doesn't mean I forgive you for mind controlling Tyler." I push Damon away from him, and again try walking away.

"Compelling!"

"What?"

"I compelled Tyler. It's a vampire thing." Damon's strong hands land on my expose shoulder's. "Lets dance."

"I am sorry, but I don't feel like dancing."

"It's cute how you think I am asking you things, when really I am telling you."

* * *

Damon twirls me around, and as hard as I try I can't help but smile. I guess I underestimated his dancing capabilities. "Alright, you have my full attention. Why did you want to dance?"

"Can't I dance with my girlfriend? Even though she has cheated on me twice today."

Lightly, I hit him with one of my hands. "Be serious with me for one second, please."

"Ow, haven't you hurt me enough today?" I roll my eyes at his words. Damon's humor was charming, even if sometimes it wasn't at the appropriate times. "About what you said this morning, that's not going to work for me. You wanting to take a break, because we have a lot to do."

Damon's right. I am never going to be normal, and its time I accept that. Why try and conceal what I can do, and who I am? Ignoring it won't make it disappear. Sure, my morals were conflicting with my motivations. No longer did I want the ignorance, but in order to attain knowledge I had to side with a murderer? The thought made my skin scrawl, an innocent person dying. But, something inside of me wanted to know, and it was out weighing the thought of Damon's indiscretions.

"Forget what I said earlier. I want to learn more, and if you promise not to kill anyone else, then I will help you however I can."

"I knew there was a reason I made you my girlfriend."

Elena cuts into our dancing by shoving Damon away from me. Startled, I grab Elena's arm, attempting to stop the scene unfolding before me. She rips her arm out of my hand, shoving Damon again.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I saw what you did to Caroline. You go near her or Lia again, and I will tell their mother, the sheriff." Elena's words shock Damon, like electricity.

What he did to Caroline? I look between Elena and Damon for answers, but neither of them say anything.

Elena leads me away from Damon, and I am trying to put the pieces of what just happened together, but I am not getting the bigger picture.

"Elena, what do you mean what he did to Caroline?" I stop in my tracks, demanding her to tell me.

Her brown eyes soften, and she take my hands in hers. "I don't know exactly what was going on with you and Damon, but he left bruises and bite marks on Caroline. Lia, I think they slept together."

Caroline had slept with Damon, even though she believed we were dating? My hands retract from Elena's. All the noise around me silenced. No, Caroline wouldn't do that to me, we are sisters without the genes to prove it. Damon must have compelled her. But, why would he do that? And what would he do now knowing Elena caught on? He killed Tanner for no real reason...

"No, oh no." Urgently, my eyes scan the crowded. How will I ever find her? There are people everywhere I look. "Where did you see Caroline last?"

"Lia, you should talk to her about this later. She has been drinking, and I don't want her to say things she might not mean."

"Elena, you don't get it. Just tell me where you saw her last!" I plead with her, knowing that it could already be too late.

"She was walking towards the front... Lia-"

I don't let Elena stop me. She has no conception of what is truly going on. Pushing through people, I make it past the dance floor and towards the side of the house. Sure enough Damon was standing behind Caroline, his arms stretching out to grab her. All of the bottled up emotions that dissipated when Tyler kissed me returns.

The wind picks up around me, but it doesn't register with me as I sprint towards Caroline. Damon has her in his grasps now, he is biting into her neck.

"Get away from her." Without realizing what I was doing, my hand jerks in the direction of a tree, throwing Damon against it.

Thunder ricochets into the night, in the exact moment he hits the tree. Other people may have just heard the sound of thunder, but I also heard the sound of bones breaking. Caroline falls to her hands and knees with a small whimper. She pushes herself up, staring at me in disbelief. I can't bare to look at her, I turn my attention to the tree Damon's body was saying under.

Oh god, what have I done? My hands cover my mouth, walking towards Damon's lifeless body. Raindrops start falling, the droplets hitting my skin, feeling like shards of glass.

Sinking to the ground, I see Stefan running towards me. His arms wrap around me in seconds. Flashes of memories take over me sight. Damon's body morphs into Vikki in the woods, blood gushing from her neck. Her eyes are terrified. A small sob racks itself out of my chest. My own trembling hands cover my mouth. I blink to see Tanner has taken her place. His blood surrounds me. Pulling my hands away from my mouth, I see his blood is all over them as well. The tears I tried to hold in spill out of me, like this rain from the sky. Trembling I touch Tanner, and he turns back to Damon, whom is still laying lifeless. Elena starts coming towards us, but Stefan stands up, blocking Damon and I from her view.

"Will you take care of Caroline! I got Lia." Stefan asks, a hint of nervousness in his voice. Did she see Damon?

Elena nods her head, walking over to help Caroline stand. She still seems to be in some sort of trance, but lets Elena guide her away from Stefan and I.

"Did-d-d-d I kil-l-l him?" I stutter, almost unable to talk.

"Shhh, it's okay. He's a vampire, he will come back to life." Stefan whispers to me. "I am going to take Damon home. Stay here I will be right back."

Stefan pulls off his nice dress-jacket. He puts it over me, covering me to stop me from getting more drenched. I can hear people around me rushing to get inside the Lockwood's house, but I don't move an inch. When Stefan comes back he picks me off the ground bridal style.

"I don't want to lose control again."

"We will figure this out Lia, I promise you we will."

* * *

Stefan brought me home, and explained to Elena that Caroline had passed out and I freaked out about it. Elena didn't seem to think twice about the strange cover, but she probably assumed I too had been drinking that night. Or maybe Stefan was just that convincing. Stefan tucked me into bed, telling me he would come by in the morning to check on the both of us.

I was a little startled how seconds after he left my bedroom my door cracked open. When I saw Caroline sneaking in I moved over to make room for her. She crawled in bed, resting her head on my stomach. It was something we had done since we were kids, when once of us was upset. The one upset would lay their head on the others stomach, and the person's would comfort them.

"Lia, please don't hate me." Caroline words were barely audible. "I don't know what came over me. Damon is your boyfriend, but he told me it was okay...that you wouldn't care..." her words die down as they are replaced with tears.

"Car, I could never hate you. Damon and I aren't anything, we never were. I am sorry I didn't see that he was hurting you." My hands brush through her blonde hair.

Tonight has been a rollercoaster of emotions. At this moment I didn't know what to think about anything that had happened, even Tyler and I's kiss.

"Promise me you aren't mad."

"I promise I am not mad Car. Go to sleep, we both need it."


	9. Chapter 9

I stifle a yawn, while thinking about how tiring the last three days of my life have been. Since the Founders Party I have been going straight from school, to cheer practice, then Stefan's house to help with Damon. At the same time I was trying to fit in time with my new boyfriend, Tyler, and hang out with Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, and Lucas. Lucas has forgiven me for the other night, which I can thank Jenna for. Apparently after I bolted away from him, Jenna told him not to take it personally, that I was always a little emotional at the Founder's Party's because of how it reminded me if my mother. Lucas even seemed happy when I told him that Tyler and I are now together. Or maybe that was a delusion, and he was really not okay with it. I mean I haven't really slept in the last three days, and I hear hallucinations happen when you don't sleep.

"You know, you can't ignore me forever." Damon's voice is raspy and every couple of words he coughs. His skin is ghostly pale, beads of sweat dropping down his skin. His normal ocean-blue eyes look hollow and ashen. He is withering away, into the nothing Stefan wishes he would become.

I have learned how to put up a protective wall around myself, and I was now using it so I could be in the cell watching Damon, without worry of him lunging over to me to drink me dry. For some odd reason I still feel bad for knocking him unconscious the other night, and to ease my mind from the guilt I have been hanging out in this basement dungeon with him for a couple hours everyday, but it's almost counterproductive because I haven't said one word since visiting him.

"I see Stefan stole Violet's ring from me; how nice of him. I am sure it's been helpful to you." I glance over at Damon, not moving my head from the wall it is leaning against. Helpful? Stefan hadn't mentioned the ring retained any magic abilities, or anything. Damon could just be saying this to get arise out of me.

"I can show you what happened to her." Damon is straining to push the words from his tongue. A name doesn't have to be said, I know he is talking about Violet. The girl who could potentially hold the answers to what I am and how it is we look identical when we are born hundreds of years apart. Sitting up from the wall, I lean over to where the invisible barrier is dividing is. Damon watches me carefully as I get closer. There had to be a catch, and I was not going to go in to this without know exactly what that stipulation would be.

"I am not letting you go; you know I can't. So, what would you want in return from me?" I stare intently into his eyes, trying to read them. A person can lie, but their eyes never do. To know what happened to Violet would give me closure to one of my many questions, but not if it meant doing something for Damon that in turn would hurt someone else. Too many people had been injured or killed already.

"I want you to get Katherine out of the tomb."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I ponder over what he just said. Tomb, what tomb? And who is Katherine? Seconds later I recgonize the name. Elena had told me about a previous girlfriend named Katherine who had toyed with both boys emotions.

She has slept with each brother telling them she loved them. When he spoke her name his eyes showed me how hurt he was over this girl. If she was still alive, clearly that meant she was a vampire and I don't know if we need another one of those in Mystic Falls right now. But, this girl was able to get Damon to show feelings. Katherine had to be a special girl. How bad could finding her and letting her go really be?

Swiftly I grab a hold of Damon's arm, a jolt runs through me, and we are back at the old Salvatore house.

* * *

Violet is wearing a long black dress. Her puffy eyes and reddened cheeks lets you know she has been crying. There is a ominous silence to the Salvatore house, a house that once held new life. The fragile looking girl walk deeper into the candle lit room. The shadow of the small flame dances on the white walls. Violet takes a seat on the bed that she had once given birth on. Her eyes linger on the pillow that once propped up her head as she screamed for the pain to end.

"Violet, I did not know you would be here. How terribly sorry I am." Violet looks up at Stefan startled. A horrified gasp escapes her lips, her eyes traveling over Stefan's bloodied body. Drips of blood fall from his chin, his white shirt stained with it, and his eyes had protruding purple veins coming from them.

Violet is not ignorant to the supernatural world, and seeing as she had just come back from Stefan and Damon's grave, she was aware that this mean the brothers had become creatures of the night. The townspeople called them monsters, and had just burned many of them in a church not too far away.

"Stefan, my love, what have you done?" Violet spoke like a mother would to her child. Yet, Stefan is the same age as she is. Her face shows concern, no trace of fear. Violet stands, going to walk towards him, but Stefan jumps back holding his hands out. His features have reverted back to their normal appearance. And he looks like a scared little boy.

"No! I do not care to hurt you and if you come closer I know I will. You should fear me! Don't you know what has become of me?" Violet dismisses what he says and walks over to him. Stefan backs himself into the wall close to the door. His actions anxious and fidgety.

"Dear boy, you will never cause me aliments on purpose. I am enlightened on the subject of what Miss Katherine was. Had I known she was feeding you her blood I would have stopped her. Now look what she has done to you." Violets gentle hand rubs the blood from his chin. "Whose blood stains your shirt." her soft voice caresses Stefan, and he sweeps her into his arm. Sobs break out of him, causing him to collapse into her.

"I took his life Violet. I killed me father." Violet squeezes the boy tighter, his tears tumbling to her shoulder. The pain of taking a family member's life is one he will carry for the rest of his time, and Violet grimaces at the thought of how heavy that pain will weigh on him.

"Shhh, it was not an act done on purpose."

Stefan withdrawals from her arms his eyes a deep red, his veins once again a purple color. "He shot Damon and I. Our own father murdered us just because we loved someone he thought of as a monster. What I have done may not have been an accident." Stefan's bloodied lips curl downwards and regret rises in his eyes. "Your blood... I can't help it. I am sorry."

Within seconds he bites into her pale skin. A sickening crunching noice accompanies, and Violet presses her delicate hands to Stefan's chest with a yelp.

"Stefan, you can stop this. I do not wish to hurt you." she pleads with him, and her power yearning to burst out of her. His words only make him clutch onto her body more. "Please, I beg of you to stop."

Suddenly Damon appears, throwing Stefan across the room. Violet drops to her knees, clutching her throat. The bloods seeps through her fingers, and she watches the two brothers intently. Her free hand catches on a silver chain, it appears to be a medium-sized locket. When Stefan surges forward to attack Damon, Damon grabs him forcefully by the head.

"Sorry brother." Stefan's neck cracks, and he drops lifeless to the floor. Violet closes her eyes, the crinkles on her eyelids pressing together.

Damon kneels down to face Violet, making sure he is not too too close to the bleeding girl. Violet looks up to him, sadness spilling from her eyes. Blood is pouring out of her wound, seeping into her dress.

"Why did you not stop him? I know you are capable." He looks at her astonished. Violet doesn't answer him, only mustering up a small, but sad grin in response. The love he felt for this small girl was bond deep within him. To see her hurt, caused pain by someone she considered family, caused him to ache for her. Damon has tears welling in his eyes, but he is trying to stay strong. With his fangs pushing out of his gums, he bites into his arm. "I will not let you die. Tell me, is Elli safe?"

Damon brings Violet's weakened body into his arms, taking deep breaths to control his blood lust. The wounded wrist is brought up to her mouth, urging her to drink the blood and allow herself to be healed. Graciously she accepts, knowing without it she may not live.

The color that had drained from her face slowly returns, and when she sits up on her own Damon backs away from her.

"Elli is safe, away from harm for some time. It is a shame she will not get to grow up with such a gentleman, as yourself, in her life." She put her hand to her chest, opening the locket. Out tumbles a small folded up piece of paper. The inside of the locket has a symbol in it, the infinity symbol.

Violet opens the fragile piece of paper. "Damon, my dearest friend, take this and do me a favor. I need you too look upon me, tell me to forget about what Stefan has just done. Allow me to forget about the death of your father, the knowledge of who Katherine Pierce is, and let me forget your brother and you. Tell me when people ask all I will rememeber my last couple of years were spent with a truly amazing man and his wonderful brother, two men whom I may never forget."

Words by word Damon gives in his sorrow, tears cascading from him. Violet old out her trembling hands, chocking on her words. There are no others in the world she cares about us much as them. "With my power's help, I will let you erase everything."

Damon took the piece of paper, unfolding it to see a treasured photo. The picture was of Violet in the garden a glowing aura surrounding her. She is sitting next to Damon, who is holding a her baby girl. His blue orbs watching the tiny girl, awestruck. Behind the two of them stood Stefan and a brown haired girl with olive skin. Violet is gazing over at Damon with a toothy smile, Damon is staring lovingly at the child, Stefan is looking at the olive skinned with endless passion in his gaze, and the girl is smiling at Violet, almost as if she is proud.

"Violet please-"

"Damon, it has to be done." For a second she puts her hand on his cheek, and when she does Damon leans into her small hand. "Damon Salvatore, your worth is incomparable to any other. You have taken better care of me than my own husband." Violet stumbles on her words a little, knowing this is the last time she may ever see the man. "I love you, Damon. I am sorry of your becomings, but know I adore you just the same."

Damon takes her hand from his cheek, gently pulling both of her hands up to his chest. With her permission, and some help from her abilities, just as she asked, he did.

I swiftly remove my arm from Damon's scooting away from him. Fumbling with my the silver chain, I remove the locket that was hidden under my shirt. When it opens I see the same symbol that Violet's locket had. A frenzy of thought run around in my mind. This was part of the Koyne's heirlooms Yet, Violet had been wearing it. How is this possible? Was Violet a Koyne?

"I don't understand. How is all of this possible?!" my voice comes out shaky. One question may have been answered, but I gained a hundred more. "That girl in the picture looks just like Elena! Is Elena a vampire too?"

Damon chuckles, barely able to look my way now. "That wasn't Elena. It was Katherine."

* * *

I was trying to listen to Caroline rant about the strict dress code for the sexy suds charity event, but the image of Elena's look alike, Katherine, kept appearing before my eyes. I knew all about the Katherine love triangle between the boys. Not the intimate details, but the basics, like how Damon claims he loved her first. And Stefan doesn't really believe him.

Damon told me he still had the picture and I could look at it in person if I wanted. However after seeing Stefan almost kill Violet, and Violet not even use her powers to save herself, I had decided my mind was filled with enough questions and one more would be the pin to the balloon.

"Lia! Are you even listening to me?" Caroline whined, slamming her locker shut. Caroline crosses her arms at me, angry that I had been off in my own little world while she was telling me about out charity fundraiser. Her angered expression almost makes me laugh, because Caroline isn't someone who stays mad for long. So, seeing her get all worked up over something she will just move on from later is pretty humorous. Though I still feel some guilt that she was trying to explain something and I didn't get a word into my full mind.

I lean my head against the my locker, which is right next to hers. "Are you sure you want to this? Tik said she would be more than happy to take over this year."

When I woke up, the night after Caroline had fallen asleep crying in my arms, she acted like nothing had happened. I woke up to her making me breakfast, which never happens. Maybe it was her way of saying thanks and trying to get past it. Or maybe she was burying everything hoping her feelings would go away on their own.

Caroline huffed at me in anger, rolling her eyes. "For the last time, I am fine! Stop badgering me about it. Tomorrow both of us will be at Sexy Suds, looking smoking hot in our two pieces and shorts. No more discussion on it."

Caroline see's something over my shoulder. Without warning she brushes past me and towards whatever caught her attention. Bossy Car is back, and she is back in full force. I lift my head off the locker, looking over my shoulder to see Stefan and Elena. It strikes me that she will most likely inquire about Damon, and that will not end in hr favor. I quickly turn around and chase after Caroline.

As I catch up to her she loops her arm in mine. "Where is Damon? He has some serious apologizing to do to the both of us."

I look up at Stefan, giving him a slight nod. There was no use in lying and saying that he had no idea. Caroline deserved to know some form of the truth. The little bit that we could actually give her.

"Damon is gone Caroline."

"And when is he coming back?"

"He isn't coming back."

Elena and Caroline both fall silent, their faces clearly showing their shock. It felt wrong to not tell Caroline the whole truth. Caroline is my sister, even though she isn't, and I tell her everything. I hear Elena start saying something to her, and I just walk off. That probably loos strange to Elena and Caroline, but I don't care right now. Standing there, not blurting out the truth was making me sick to my stomach.

"Lia wait, are you okay." Stefan grabs a hold of my arm, stopping me so he can catch up.

"How much longer do you think we hid this?"

Stefan's hand scratches his back, not knowing what to say. Sure Damon is gone, but whose to say Damon was our forever problem. The supernatural is bound to rise again.

"When Damon is secured in my family tomb, we should be safe. We won't have to hid ourselves, because there will be nothing trying to expose us."

For someone who has been alive a lot longer than I have he is being pretty naive. He couldn't seriously think our troubles were now over. Or maybe he knew that they weren't, but he was secretly wishing for it to be that way.

* * *

When the doorbells rings my smile breaks out. Tyler told me after school he was going to swing by his house and then we were going to hang out with Matt at the grill. Hanging out with two of my favorite guys sounded like a nice way to end the day. I run down the stairs and open the door for Tyler.

His chocolate brown eyes light up when he sees me. In his arms he is carrying a pretty big cardboard box.

"A present from Tyler Lockwood. I should be flattered." I tease.

On the box I see my familiar hand writing. _The Founder's Party Stuff._ I had lent the Lockwood's a unique wood craved jewelry box, that was quite big. Inside there was old wedding rings, and other things my lineage had collected over the years. There were a couple other heirlooms that I had just let the Lockwood's keep in a case, in their house year round.

"Only the best for my girl." Tyler retorts sarcastically.

I take the semi-heavy box from his hands, telling him I would be right back. Normally, I would have just put the box by my bed and headed downstairs to meet Ty, but for some reason I take out the jewelry box. When I set it on my dresser it makes a strange clicking noise, and things fall out of the bottom. My hands grab a document, and scan over it. The document is my birth certificate, and where my dads name should be, there is nothing.

This makes no sense. She knew who my father was. She told me when I was younger that my last name was different from hers, because my father wanted me to have his last name. She had said he loved me very much, but couldn't be in my life. So, why wasn't it on there?


	10. Chapter 10

With one hard hit I sink the eight ball into the pocket and beat Tyler at pool. An excited grin sneaks onto my face. When Tyler sees my grin he rolls his eyes playfully at me. I may have won the game, but Tyler succeeded on giving my mind some temporary peace. The pressure of reality had been relieved and for a quantity of time my only aim was to beat Tyler at pool.

Earlier when we walked into the grill I had been disassociated with the world going on around me. It was like I was in auto pilot mode, my body making the moves, but no thoughts were going into those actions. Since finding my birth certificate I have been trying to make sense of my more than complicated life.

My mother told me long ago that she gave me my father's last name, because that is what he would have wanted. Yet, she didn't put his name on my brith certificate? A girl identical to myself is emerging in my dreams, trying to advise me in life without giving me the answers I want. And to top it all of I have powers that make me think I am a witch. However, I have this ever-present feeling there is more to me than that. Somehow I opened a door to all the unknowns in my past, and now I couldn't close it.

Walking into the grill, Tyler could tell I was only half listening to what he was saying. With one look he knew that all of this was upsetting me, even if he didn't know what 'all if this' was, so he suggested we play pool. Tyler knew what most people didn't.

I will deny it if someone points it out, but I can be a tad competitive. Only my closet friends know that, and they all think 'it's adorable' that someone sweet like me can get competitive. Tyler knew a good competitatin would distract me from what ever it was bothering me. And I can't lie, beating Tyler Lockwood at something did make me feel a little better.

Tyler leans his pool stick on the table and walks over to me. A burst of color burst out onto my cheeks as he comes close to me. My arms wrap around his neck when he stops in front of me.

"You cheated somehow." Tyler teases, pinning me between him and the pool table. His arms are on both sides of my waist, and all I can smell is his strong cologne. The smell of woods and musk dances past my noise, making me smile. I look up into his brown eyes, wondering how after sixteen years we finally ended up together. All through middle school and high school I had a silly school girl crush on him, but he hadn't seemed interested; that is until now.

Tyler goes to lean and kiss me, but someone interrupts by clearing their throat.

"When did you guys become a thing?" I look past Tyler to see Matt walking our way, hands in pocket and a toothy smile on his face.

Even though Matt looks a little surprised at Tyler and I being together, I know he is happy about it. Matt always teased me about having a crush on Tyler when we were younger. Often he would try to insinuate that we should be a thing.

With a big grin, I wiggle out of Tyler's grip and walk over to give Matt a hug. Matt laughs, embracing me in his arms. Being around him and Tyler put me in the best mood now.

"Things happen when you keep two people waiting. Man, you said you would be here two hours ago!" Tyler complains to Matt, with his arms crossed.

"Oh hush Ty, you barely noticed he was missing. Tyler was too busy trying to figure out how I was crushing him at pool." I laugh, giving Tyler a playful wink. Matt puts his arm around my shoulder announcing that he taught me everything I know; which is true. Matt used to hate playing with me because I was that bad, so he taught me a couple tricks.

"Hey guys, have you seen Stefan?"

Tyler, Matt, and I all look over to see Elena walking towards us. She looks slightly annoyed and also a tad concerned. I had almost forgotten that Stefan and Elena are supposed to meet here tonight. Stefan must be late, which probably means Damon did something to get under his skin.

Elena and Stefan have been bickering back and forth since the Founder's Party. Stefan keeping secrets from her is slowly eating at their relationship. Elena has been trying to make it seems like it's not effecting her, but I can tell it is. After everything that has happened to her in the last year, I never thought I would see her be the ever-glowing happy person she used to be. Then Stefan came along, and she has become happier than ever been. I would hate for that go away.

"We haven't seen him." Elena quietly nods her head, starting to walk away, but Matt stops her. "But hey, would you wanna kill some time and help me beat Lia and Tyler at pool." Matt smiles one of his cute smiles at her. Our group of friends has been somewhat divided these days. Seeing Elena next to Matt, Matt trying to be cute, brought back nice memories. Memories of when life had been a tad more simple.

Elena goes to turn down the offer, but I egg her on. "C'mon when is the last time all four of us have hung out together? Can you even remember the last time all of us were together?"

It had been before Elena and Matt even dated. I think Caroline forced us all to some party or something. That night was the first time I had ever been drunk, so the details are a little hazy. I just remember a small group of us were sitting by a bonfire making s'mores. Bonnie, and I were laughing over something small, because both of us were more than tipsy. Everything seemed funny to us in that moment. Caroline was telling us about this guy she thought was 'soooo good looking'. Tyler, Matt, and Elena were sitting on a log across from Bonnie and I. They were talking about something embarrassing that had happened to Matt earlier. I remember looking around, thinking how great it was that we have grown up together. How through all the years we stayed close. I looked over at Bonnie that night and told her that we could withstand anything together; we were those people that would raise our own kids together.

"Guess who was prancing around my house this morning?" Elena says with disgust. Blinking away the memory, I give her a questioning look. "Vikki, she was walking around the house all nonchalant about hooking up with my little brother."

That is a sight I am glad I was not around to see. I like to think Jeremy is still Elena's innocent kid brother, even if that's no longer true.

Matt face morphs into a look as if he just tried a lemon for the first time. He leans over the pool table to take his turn, since Elena had taken the first shot. "Yeah, that's weird. Next topic."

"How late is Stefan right now?" Tyler sneers, causing me to jab him in the stomach with my elbow. Tyler is still not a fan of Stefan's, considering he had just walked onto the football team and become the star member.

"Ty, don't be rude." I tell him, pulling out my phone that was vibrating. Speak of the vampire, and he shall call. "Hey, I have to take this call."

As I exit the grill I look around to make sure none of them followed me. I hate being sneaky, but if Stefan was calling me it was definitely going to have something to do with Damon. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Damon just tried to kill Zach. I hate to bother you, but I am supposed to be at the grill meeting Elena-"

"Stefan stop talking, it's fine." I assure him. "Let's just trade places. You come here and I will babysitting Damon. You shouldn't let him steal your happiness."

I hear Stefan let out a sigh of relief. Stefan has been wound up tight since he put Damon in their basement. I felt bad for Stefan, because unlike me, he was stuck at the house for most of the day just watching Damon slowly become weaker and weaker. I had been able to help, along with somewhat balance my normal day to day life.

"I will be there soon. Thank you Lia, I mean it."

* * *

Tyler was slightly agitated when I told him I had to cut our hanging out short. I told him I made a promise to help someone out with a project of theirs some time ago, and that I couldn't just break that promise. Lying to him made me feel bad, but Stefan deserves a break from our homicidal vampire in town, Damon. Also, I still had a ton of things on my mind that Damon may or may not be willing to help me out with.

Before I open the door to his cell, I put up the invisible barrier. Wouldn't want to become a personal blood bag to a famished vampire. Not that I think Damon would do that. He has had ample opportunity to hurt me if he wanted and he never has.

"Back already? Even desiccated I must be attractive." Damon's chuckle is pathetic sounding. I can tell he is deteriorating more and more by the day. A pang of guilt sounds in my chest and I try not to let him see that seeing him like this makes me feel bad.

"Well when someone tries to kill their uncle when their brother is supposed to be on a date, I guess am the one to call to help babysit." I sit down, pulling my knees to my chest. I watch his chest struggle to rise and fall; his body fighting to be able to function properly.

"You know Violet was a lot more loving and understanding than you are." Damons words don't hurt me. I too had noticed she treated him with a kindness that seemed beyond friendship, almost motherly.

"Did you love her?" The question had been weighing heavily on my mind. Had Damon been in love with my look alike? I had never seen a face like the one he made when he looked into her child's eyes. Something about that look told me when Damon cared, he cared more deeply than most.

"Not in the way you are thinking. When I first met her, I didn't understand her. She was always so motherly, and it could be annoying." Damon laughs under his breath, and as he takes a deep breath in, his ocean blue eyes connect with my bright blue ones. "But, I learned it was only because she loved with everything in her. In her eyes you could do no wrong, through everything she would love you just the same. I think she cared for me more than my own parents."

Moments of silence pass between the two of us. From what I have seen, I could tell that every word Damon had forced out was true. Violet had treated Damon like he was someone she needed to bring under her wing and nurture.

Damon's eyes close shut, as if he is relishing in a memory of her. It would be nice to see what he is seeing, but I leave him alone. No matter what he does, from the what I have seen in my flashbacks of her, I know there is a good person in him.

"Have you lost control since the Founder's Party?"

I tilt my head to the side, seeing Damon is once again looking my way. After the Founder's Party I had worn that locket I found in my storage locker and the ring Stefan gave me everyday, hoping a connection to my past would help keep my emotions calm and so far it is working.

"No, I think I am learning control."

"Nope."

I furrow my eyebrows together at him disagreeing with me. He must know something I don't.

"That ring is what is keeping you in control. Violet told me without it her powers would have outbursts. You want to be able to conceal who you are from others? Never take it off." Damon's eyes closed. His breathing was getting slower and slower. This time I don't think he is remembering things. This time I think he is slowly losing touch with reality.

I stand up and break the barrier as I walk towards the door. A groan comes from behind me, my noise from closing the door must have woken him.

"I am not dying in here Lia. And when I get out we have work to do."

* * *

"Tell me, is he good in bed?" Caroline gives me this teasing smirk and I throw my beach cover-up I was showing her at her face.

She ducks, barely dodging it, not that the thin red fabric would have done any damage at all. "I haven't slept with Tyler, Caroline. We haven't even been together that long!"

We are deciding on what to wear for the "Sexy Suds" charity drive. Caroline is being insistent that I wear a two piece without shorts. Meaning the cover-up that I had thrown at her is not allowed.

"Okay, but the sexual tension has always been there." Caroline rolls her at me, picking out a nice blue two piece that I had gotten towards the end of the summer. I did adore it, but wearing it and washing a car, like some playboy bunny made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"If I wear it, I am not taking off my shorts Car. I don't want wash cars just in my two piece." I reach over and take the hanger from her, and hold it under my arm. Biting at my bottom lip I am hoping she allows me to break the two piece only rule.

"Ugh fine Lia. If you _need_ to wear shorts, then you can wear them! But it is not necessary, because you look great without them!" I look over at Caroline with a small grin. It's always nice to have people compliment you.

When I look her way I see Caroline scrunch her face together, slowly shaking her head. "Car, you okay?"

I try to walk towards her, she backs away from me to go sit on her bed. Both of her hands brush her hair back. "It's nothing...I...uh. I am fine."

"Maybe you should lay down and get some sleep." I tell her, sitting on the bed next to her to rub her back. Caroline looks at me her blue orbs show a cocktail of being scared and confused. And I have no idea why.

* * *

"Do you guys think Caroline has been acting strange today?" I finish squeezing the excess water water out of my sponge and look up to see Matt staring broodingly at Elena and Stefan, whom are talking by the pay station. Bonnie seemed to have walked over there to grab some more towels.

Every since last night Caroline has been acting kind of funny. She's been acting almost paranoid, looking over her shoulder and other strange things like that. No one else has seemed to pick up on it except me.

I plunge my fist into the cold water, grabbing the hose that was sitting in it. Putting a kink in the hose, I pull it out and point it towards Matt. Letting the hose unkink, the frigid water sprays all over him.

"Lia! What the heck!" Matt, now drenched in water, looks over at me with a annoyed expression. An expression that ceases to exist when he see's I am bent over laughing at him. My arms wrap around my stomach as I giggle to myself. I find myself leaning against the car, so I won't fall over from laughter.

A car pulls towards us as Bonnie comes back, more towels and sponges in hand. "I leave you two alone for two seconds and when I come back one of you is soaked. This is a charity event, not a waterworks place." Bonnie kids, giving Matt a look. Matt points at me, like a child tattling on his younger sibling.

"I think three people to one car is excessive. Especially if that one guy over there is washing a car by himself." Tiki sneers at us with her hands on her hips, tilting her head in the direction of the guy.

Bonnie gives Tiki an unwelcoming frown, the three of us don't always get along. Tiki believes she should be captain, so when Caroline isn't watching she tries to boss us around. I try to stray away from confirmation and just do what she says, but Bonnie actually has a back bone. Bonnie stands up to her, not allowing her to push us around. What would I do without Bonnie?

When I look around to see the lonesome guy, I see she is talking about Stefan. If it makes Tiki happy, and doesn't cause a public argument, why not just give her what she wants? "Don't worry Tiks, I will help him out." I force a nice smile, and tell Bonnie and Matt I will see them later.

The warm air kisses my skin, making me feel comfortable in just my bikini and shorts. My long white-blonde hair tumbles down my shoulders in waves. I feel like I should be on a beach right now, drinking a mango icy.

Stefan looks my way when he hears me coming. It's strange, normally when I don't know people too well I would feel self conscious in this attire, but with Stefan looking at me I don't feel that way at all.

"So, how did last night go?" I hold my hand out, offering to take the sponge from him. He complies, handing me one and then leaning over the nearby bucket to pull out another one.

"Good, it went good. Thanks again for helping me out. Did you have any problems with Damon?"

"We are trying to trust each other, right?" I stop cleaning the car window, glancing over at Stefan. He nods his head at me, ring water out of his new sponge. "Then I think I should tell you Damon showed me something the other night..."

"Was it what happened to Violet?" Stefan pauses for a second, his eyes filling with regret.

"Yeah, yeah it was." I rest my hip against the car, my voice soft. The flashback plays over again in my head. Violet would rather have died than hurt Stefan. A person doesn't do that for just anyone. Stefan was special to her, and from the look in his eyes, she was just as special to him.

"I wasn't always a good guy Lia. I am sorry for what I did to her." Stefan sighs, walking towards me.

"But you are now. You saved me that night in the hospital, after Damon attacked Vikki. Didn't you?" Stefan nods his head at me, taking in every word. "Jeremy told me my head injury had been pretty serious. Since being found I hadn't been conscious and then that day when you were visiting I just woke up. As for Violet, I can't except your apology, but I am sure she would never have let you say sorry. You didn't mean to hurt her, the blood lust got to you."

"Bonnie..." Stefan looks past my in utter shock. Bonnie? What did she have to do with Violet?

"Bonnie?" Stefan grabs my shoulder to turn me around. Turning towards what he was talking about my eyes latch onto the to scene unfolding before me. Bonnie is standing feet in front of a car that is engulfed with flames. Everyone around her is fleeing. Panic spreads through me and I race over to her, my hands grip her arm as I put myself between her and the car.

"Bonnie! C'mon we have to move!" Bonnie doesn't move, her body frozen in place. Her face is scrunched together in anger, her eyes narrowed, and her hands in fists. People around us are screaming and running away from us, but I won't leave Bonnies side. Stefan tries pulling the both of us away but, a realization has come over me, and I too am stuck in place. It dawns on me that this fire isn't a danger to Bonnie, because she is the one who caused it.

I grasp one of Bonnies in both of mine. Taking a deep breath in, I focus on the car. Please let this work, please. A pulsing wave of white light shots from me, putting out the flames. Bonnie gasps breaking out of her trance.

"Did I do that...Was that me?" Tears spill from her terrified eyes, and I don't say a word.

Stefan must have nodded, because she wraps her hand in her hair, not knowing what to do.

"Lia, Stefan, please don't tell anyone." Bonnie runs from me, and when I try to follow Stefan holds me back.

"We can't help her with this."

A crushing feeling fills my chest. Bonnie has no idea what's happening to her. I should be there for her. I should tell her the truth, but I knew that wasn't for me to do.

"No one saw what I did?" I look up to Stefan, my eyes clouded with unshed tears. If people saw what I had done they wouldn't understand. The last thing I needed was people trying to figure out what I was. I am not even sure what I am.

"You put out the fire?"

"Yea."

Stefan brings me into a hug. I rest my face on his clothed chest, wrapping my arms around his back. Maybe I was the only one who could see the white light.

* * *

The drive to the boarding house is silent. The car gliding down the road was the only sound that filled the quiet. When we went to leave Sexy Suds I asked if I could see Damon, and Stefan agreed. For some reason the only person I want to talk to about my day is Damon. It doesn't make sense, but that's how I feel.

As we pull up in the driveway I notice the door to the house is wide open. Dread fills me, and I can feel that something bad has happened since we were here last. Before the car fully comes to a stop, I unbuckle myself. Stefan shouts my name when I open the door, tumbling over myself to jump out of the car.

"Damon!" I yell, running into the boarding house, towards the basement stairs.

Bounding down the steps, my mind plays out every scenarios of all the things that may have gone wrong. Turning the corner to the second round of steps I see exactly what did. The door to the cell Damon was in is open, and laying beside it is Zach Salvatore. Blood pooled around his body, and his skin was ghostly pale.

Leaning on the wall for support, I try not to collapse on the ground with a scream. This is not something I thought I would see, another life taken by the hands of Damon. The tears I had kept in at the car wash flow down my face.

Stefan appears beside me, pulling my back into his chest with one arm. For a couple seconds neither of us move. My hands grip tightly onto his arm, the only support I have, because my body feels weak.

With one swift movement Stefan picks me up, and in a blink of an eye we are in the living room. He lets me go, running to one of the book cases. Quickly, he opens drawer after drawer.

"Stefan, what are you doing." I brush the tears from my face, collecting myself.

"I am going to kill him." Stefan pulls out a wooden steak. Right now I should feel relieved that if Stefan kills Damon no one else will die from his hands, but the only the I feel is horror. Damon can't die; I don't want Damon to die.

"Stefan no! Don't do this. It's not what you want." Stefan walks towards the front door, and I sprint to catch up with him.

"Of course it's not what I want, but it's needed. Damon isn't the person you think he is Lia! There is no humanity left in him."

"Yes, there is. I swear there is."

"Lia." Stefan's hand lands on the door knob, his voice harsh. "Damon has to die."

The door opens and we both stop in our tracks.

"What are you!" Elena shouts at the both of us.

A clatter sounds when Stefan drops the wooden stake to the ground. Elena looks over at me, finally realizing I am beside him.

"Lia? Stefan what's going on?"


	11. Chapter 11

_The sun shines down on Violet's long, white-blonde hair, making it have an almost silver sheen to it. It cascades down the girl's shoulder like a waterfall, the natural waves to it have all the other girl in town envious. Violet's eyes linger on the tree in the front yard, the swing attached to it moving as the soft breeze blows past it. Subconsciously, she wraps her arms around her unborn child. She's picturing Stefan or Damon pushing her little girl on the swing; the little girl laughing, her eyes bright with the wonder the world brings._

 _Giuseppe Salvatore walks towards her, admiring her for the woman she is becoming. He has watched her grow into the responsible person she is today, and he knows she will make a great mother. The man almost wishes he could call this girl his daughter._

 _"Miss Pierce should be arriving any moment now, Violet."_

 _Violet swirls around, a soft smile on her heart-shaped face. Giuseppe couldn't tell if it was the pregnancy or if she looked like this wontedly, but the girl's glow lights up the room. Without meaning to, she could draw the attention of any man or woman._

 _"What a poor girl, alone in this world, with few people to call friend. You have done a great thing, allowing her to take residency here, Mr. Salvatore." Violet beams at him, thinking of how four months ago he had taken her in._

 _Violet's husband travels for work, months at a time. Shortly after he left she found out she was with child. When she broke news to the Salvatore's, Giuseppe insisted she stayed with them until her husband's return. She had always been close to the family growing up, but for them to take her in is something Violet feels eternally grateful for. She couldn't imagine her days spent waiting alone for he betrothed to come home._

 _"Do you believe she will take interest in Damon? It is about time that boy marries." The lightness in his voice hardens when he speaks of Damon's need to marry. Giuseppe strides past her, looking out the window that seconds ago Violet was gazing out of. Violet turns back, but stands slightly behind him. She looks how he has his hands crossed behind his back._

 _Giuseppe is a serious man when it comes to his two boys. Violet presumed when Damon joined the army that he would lighten up on the subject of marriage, but that did not occur. It is not status he worries about, but the legacy of his family name. The Salvatore's are one of the founding member of Mystic Falls._

 _"Any girl would be charmed to have Damon ask for their hand in marriage. I assure you, Mr. Salvatore, the proper girl will come in due time." Violet's eyes wander back to the swing. Strange how that one object held many envisions of her future._

 _"It tis a shame he did not ask you for your hand. You are already thought of as part of our family, he should have made it official." The father of the boys looks over his shoulder, a small smile on his face. Violet had done exactly what he would have wanted his little girl to do, if he had been blessed with one._

 _Violet grew up well-mannered, without problems. Her mother taught her how to cook, clean, and take care of people. When Violet was courted by a rich and powerful man, she did not protest about not being able to choose. And when he asked for hand, she accepted without hesitation. To him, that is what a young girl's life should look like._

 _If you were to ask Violet, she would not complain about her life, but tell you she is lucky. Though Damon and Stefan feel slightly different, considering her husband has not returned for her. And they had a feeling his 'business trip' was not a business trip at all._

 _Violet looks down at her small baby bump, again placing her hand to her stomach. The red fabric is soft against her fingertips. This dress was specially made for her, Damon had bought it as a present. "Me, bring in another Salvatore into this world? Could I truly live up to that honor?"_

 _A rare sound echos in the room, Giuseppe's laugh. If only the father showed the same tender kindness he did to Violet to his boys, things could be different._

 _The sounds of horse's hooves hitting against a dirt road becomes apparent. Seconds later Stefan is coming down the stairs, looking a little frazzled. He seems to be nervous at the thought of having another young woman in the house, especially one whom he had not grown up with._

 _Violet starts to walk towards the front door, trailing after the young boy, but Giuseppe lightly grabs her wrist. "Do be sure the boy makes a first good impression." The firmness in his voice returns, as it always does when he talks about his two boys._

 _Violet bites her tongue, not wanting to infuriate him by asking why he doesn't have faith in his two boys. He did, however, seem to be more gentle when it came to Stefan. Damon got the blunt end of his harshness. "Of course Mr. Salvatore, though I would except nothing less from Stefan, he is quite the young gentleman." With that being said he nudges her along._

 _Violet walks towards the front, the skirt of her red dress dragging slightly on the floor, not enough for it to be hemmed more. She watches as Miss Pierce descends from the carriage, Stefan holding his hand out to help her. Stefan has a small smile on his face and Miss Pierce is staring adoringly at the boy. Her beauty is eye catching. She has perfect olive skin, brown doe-eyes, gorgeous brown hair, and her presence is hard to ignore. She too is a girl who can command a room by simply walking in._

 _"You must be Miss Pierce." Stefan says, seeming already smitten with the beautiful girl. His smiles charms a giggle out of the girl, whose cheeks flush with color._

 _"Please call me Katherine." The girl replies, not taking her eyes off him._

 _"Katherine Pierce, what a lovely name. The name makes you sound sharp, intelligent, a girl who knows what she wants." Violet's voice travel through the air, bursting the bubble Stefan and Katherine seemed to be in, where both were admiring the other._

 _Katherine looks up onto the white porch, where Violet is standing. She looks her over, taking in her appearance. Her pupils widen, fearing that the girl standing before her is someone she knew years ago. Would that even be possible?_

 _Violet walks towards her, placing her hands on her stomach as she goes down the stairs. Her motherly senses intensify as she came closer to the shocked girl, it is then she knows something isn't right._

 _Katherine can hear the blood pumping in the girl's veins, the sound of two hearts beating within her. Violet is human and with child, meaning it's not possible that she is the same girl Katherine knew many years ago. Violet may not be the girl she thought she was, but she is a doppelgänger. Klaus wants a doppelgänger._

 _Violet wraps Katherine in a big hug, kindness not being her only motive. "No need to look worried, lovely girl. It was meant as a compliment."_

 _When her hands touched the green fabric of Katherine's dress, she saw Katherine's life happen within mere moments. Violet saw every second, every secret, and every sin. Katherine is unbeknownst to this, and smiles when she pulls away._

 _Katherine thinks the girl may be ignorant to what she is capable or maybe won't suspect Katherine to know anything about it. And if that is so, she would have nothing to worry about._

 _However, Violet is not ignorant to what she is capable of. And now, she is well aware of who Katherine Pierce is. Katherine Pierce is truly Katerina Petrova, and she killed the doppelgänger before Violet._

* * *

Elena is standing on the front porch of the Salvatore Boarding house, questioning what Stefan is. Somehow she knows Stefan isn't your average human-being. I don't know how she found out, but I am certain her knowing will change her life. It changed mine. When the door opened, it couldn't be closed. The way I look at things has forever changed, because things that once seemed unusual made sense.

I look to Stefan, not knowing what he will want to tell Elena. If it were me, I would tell her the truth and all of it. That is the only way the relationship will work; a relationship filled with lies will only fall apart.

Then again, who am I to talk? I haven't considered telling Tyler about my abilities.

"I should leave."

Stefan's forest-green eyes look down at me and he nods to me slowly. The way he looks at me tells me he wishes I could stay, but he knows this is a conversation the two if them should have without an audience. I silently mouth to him that it will be okay, and then I turn my attention to Elena.

"I am sorry if after talking to him you are upset with me, but I understand why you would be. If you can find it in yourself to forgive me, you should stop over after you talk with him."

Elena is quiet, her mind still reeling at the fact she is dating a vampire. Or at the statement that vampires aren't just fictitious entities walking around, hissing at people who were garlic.

Without looking back, I walk out of the Salvatore boarding house. It doesn't matter to me that I am going to have to walk home in the dark or that Damon is out there, probably looking after me. All I can think about at this very moment is how I don't want to lose my best friend over this.

* * *

Walking into my house, the smell of pizza meets my nostrils. As if on command, my stomach growls. If there is one thing I am excellent at, it's stress eating. Right now I am stressed, on top of being anxious, and pizza sounds like a temporary cure for that.

I throw my bag by the door, not caring enough to take it up to my bedroom right now. Today had been a whirlwind; Bonnie set a car on fire with her magic, Damon escaped and killed Zach, and Elena figured out Stefan is a vampire. To say the day had been eventful, would be an understatement.

"Caroline, did you order pizza? Do you mind if I have some?" I shout up the stairs. Someone says something from the kitchen, but it's a muffled sound. She must have her mouth full right now.

Walking into the kitchen, I am surprised to see Liz sitting at the kitchen table. When the number of 'animal attacks' started rising, the chances of seeing her at home went from slim to none. Considering she is sheriff, the correlation was expected.

Liz covers her mouth, trying to talk and chew at the same time. "Caroline left awhile ago with Matt, she never said where she was going."

Just Matt and Caroline? Hmmm, that's interesting. I slump into the chair across from her, setting my arms on the table.

Ever since I found my birth certificate I have wanted to talk to Liz, but I didn't want to get in the way of her work. So, I let the issue be, but talking about it now seems like a better time than any other.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Without thinking, I start twisting the alexandrite ring on my finger. Currently, being that I am inside, the light is reflecting off of the beautiful, red colored gem. It still awes me that when I am indoor the gem is red and when I am outside the gem is a blue-ish color.

Liz puts down the pizza slice she was about to take another bite out of, her face becoming serious. "Is this about you dating the older Salvatore boy, because I am not okay with that! And-"

"No! No, we were never dating, I promise you that. I don't even know how that rumor started." I put my hands up in a mock surrender. With everything going on I had forgotten Caroline told her Damon and I were together.

Liz takes a breathe of relief, picking up her slice of pizza once again. "I found my birth certificate the other night, when I went to the storage unit for my family heirlooms. My father's name isn't on it and I don't understand why. Did you ever find out anymore about him?"

Liz brings a napkin to her mouth, dabbing the grease from the pizza off her lips. She takes a drink from her glass of water, giving her a couple of seconds to collect her thoughts.

"Your mom was always very secretive when I asked about him. All I know is that they met at Whitmore College. By the time she went to Duke for graduate school and her teaching assistant position, your father had left the picture. She told me that if he had been able to he would have stayed, but he couldn't. Trying to talk to her about it was impossible, she would shut down anytime I tried to. I didn't want to lose my best friend, so I let it go."

Going into this conversation I had a feeling she still wouldn't know much about him. When I was old enough to fully grasp everything, she told me about my parents, and my other family members.

Liz never got the chance to meet my father, which always irritated her. And as for my grandparents, or any relatives for that matter, they seemed to have disappeared. My mother was a kid genius; at the age of fourteen she went to college. Being that she wasn't a legal adult, her parents followed her there, but when my mother came back they didn't come with her. Liz didn't find any reason on why they could have been.

"When I got legal custody of you, I made sure I would be alerted if your grandparent's names ever showed up on any government document. I was determined to find them or your father, but nothing ever came out of it."

Liz put's her hands on top of mine, getting me to look up at her. While she was talking I had been concentrated on moving my ring up and down my finger. It seems to be a habit of mine when I talk about things that make me upset or nervous.

There is a softness to her light brown eyes. I can tell she is just as upset as me that we know little about my family, but truly she has tried her hardest to find things out for me.

"Cami, I am sorry I can't tell you more. I talked to everyone I possibly could, but she was the sort of person who only liked having a couple of close friends. Miranda and I were her best friends in high school. The only person she told me about at Whitmore was your father. I got in contact with a student she was really close to, her name was Isobel, but she couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know."

The name Isobel stuck out to me, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I close my eyes, trying to determine why that name was familiar. An icy feeling shoots through me, bringing forth a memory from the back of mind.

* * *

 _A man sits next to my fragile looking mother on our living room couch. His head is in his hands, and he is trying to speak in between his tears. "I haven't heard from her in months. You were my last hope. She loved having you as a teacher, you were the person who got her interested in teaching folklore. I thought maybe she would have reached out to you after her obsession started."_

 _My mother coughs into a napkin, trying to not sound as sick as she really is. If the man was to see the napkin, he would notice blood within it. "Alaric I wish she had, I truly do. You two made such a great couple. Isobel was always such a sweet girl. I have people I can-"_

 _I have been hiding behind the couch since finishing coloring my picture, and I couldn't wait anymore. I run out from behind the couch, carrying my fairytale coloring book. "Mommy, mommy look at my picture." My curls bounce as I jump up and down in front of her, holding my book out for her to take._

 _The man she referred to as Alaric wipes his tears, chuckling at me. I look to him, a bright smile on my face. "Excuse me mister, would you like to see?"_

 _"Cami, dear, would you mind showing me in a second. Then I will have time to cut it out and put it on the fridge." With her shaking hand, my mother tries to go for the book._

 _Alaric notices how my mother's hands are trembling and quickly distracts me from fixating on it. I have no idea that my mother is dying. Anytime I ask she tells me she has a cold. "It's okay. Cami, I would love to see the picture."_

 _Delighted with his answer I flip the book open, to a picture of Thumbelina asleep in her flower. Thumbelina is one of the many fairytales I fell in love with while learning to read. I practically shove the book in his face, so he can admire it. When my hands meet his, while he takes the book from me, I freeze in place. Alaric doesn't seem to notice._

 _Visions of Alaric and Isobel, and their life together, fill my mind. I feel the deep sadness within him, the despairing feeling of losing the person you thought was the one._

 _"Is this your favorite fairy tale?" His finger caresses the page. He seems astonished at how good I am at coloring for my age._

 _Blinking, I come back to reality. "Oh no, my own is my favorite."_

 _"Your own?'' Alaric looks up at me in amusement. He doesn't understand what I mean._

 _"Yes! Everyone has their own fairytale!" I assure him with smile. I am confident that everyone gets their own fairytale. It may not be anything like the one's in the books people read, but it will be their own personal version of one._

 _My mother laughs, pulling me into a hug. "Alright little one, I think it's time for you nap."_

 _I let out a whine, not wanting to take a nap. I wanted to go back to the other room and color more pictures. My mother takes my little hand into her soft ones, telling Alaric she will be right back. Before we get too far I look over at Alaric, who has his head back in his hands._

 _"Excuse me mister." Alaric looks over at me. "I am sorry she wasn't your fairytale."_

* * *

"Cami? You okay?" Blinking the memory away, I force a yawn.

"Sorry, it's been a long day and I am exhausted." I try and put on a small smile for Liz. This is the first time, at least that I can remember, that I had called forth one of my own memories with my powers.

Somehow, with my powers, I was able to conjure up a memory from when I was five years old, months before my mother passed. And if memory serves me right, that means most of the people who were close to my mother are either missing or dead, with the exception of Liz. Poor Isobel is probably still missing, Miranda died in a car accident, my family is untraceable, and my father has yet to be found.

I walk over to Liz, placing a kiss on the top of her forehead. "Thank you Liz, thank you for everything. I couldn't have ended up with a better person taking care of me."

She gives my arm a light past, appreciating my comment. Liz is one of the most amazing people I know, and it's been great having her and Caroline around after my mother passed.

I am almost out of the kitchen when Liz calls after me. "Wait Cami, there is one other person you could talk to about your mother if you want to. Ms. Von and your mother were friends. She doesn't really like to talk to people, but it's worth a shot."

"The woman two doors down who we dog sit for sometimes?" The woman is always out walking her german shepherds or taking a stroll around the neighborhood. She is a very quiet person, not someone I would see my mother being friends with, but then again I didn't know her as much as I wish I did.

I say goodnight to Liz and make my way to my bedroom. Perhaps after school tomorrow, when I have everything else figured out, I can pay her visit.

Reaching my room, I find myself stifling a real yawn. Today has been draining and I am ready for bed. Abruptly, the door to room closes, causing me to spin around.

"Long time no see, blonde beauty."

"Damon."

* * *

 **Thank you guys for continuing to read this story! I know I have been slow on updating, but I am trying to get better at it :)**

 **Let my know what you think XXOO**


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